A surveillance system that can track ships and boats all over the world in real time and can be accessed from an iPhone has gone online. Italian firm Leonardo launched its SEonSE (Smart Eyes on the Seas) platform Tuesday at the Farnborough International Airshow in the U.K.

A container ship is guided into the Port of Oakland by an AmNav tug boat in Oakland, California. Tim Rue | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The defense company claims the new platform makes it possible to view the exact position of a vessel at any moment. Piracy on the high seas costs shippers and insurers hundreds of millions of dollars each year and is particularly prevalent around Southeast Asia and West Africa. The new platform has been touted as a big step as it can spot if a ship has stopped or deviated from its mapped course. “Within seconds, people will be able to note unusual activity from a ship,” said Luigi Pasquali, Leonardo’s coordinator of space activities.

In this photo taken Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012, masked Somali pirate Abdi Ali stands near a Taiwanese fishing vessel that washed up on shore after the pirates were paid a ransom and released the crew,. Farah Abdi Warsameh