1. A computer-implemented method comprising the steps of: adapting a vessel detection algorithm based upon received synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image data and associated metadata by applying an adaptive constant false alarm rate (CFAR) algorithm to the vessel detection algorithm based upon a sensor type, an imaging mode, and an image resolution of the SAR image data; detecting one or more vessels within an image tile of the SAR image data by iteratively applying the adapted vessel detection algorithm to successive portions of the image tile; and discarding a detected vessel if one or more false alarms are determined, the false alarms including a determination that a calculated radar cross-section (RCS) of the detected vessel exceeds a predetermined RCS threshold and a determination that the detected vessel is an azimuth ambiguity.