Vessel tracking and screening company Pole Star Global is adding new shipping analytics capabilities to its offering with the acquisition of maritime technology provider StratumFive.

Founded in 2009, StratumFive provides vessel intelligence to more than 13,000 ships globally. Its central offering is the Podium5 informatics platform, which is aimed at enabling maritime operators to save time and fuel, and reduce emissions. The platform provides fleet monitoring, regulatory compliance, performance analytics and voyage optimisation, including capabilities from FleetWeather, a US-based weather routing and analytics company that StratumFive bought in 2019.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. As part of the acquisition, StratumFive founder Stuart Nicholls and CEO Ross Martin will join Pole Star in newly created leadership positions.

Pole Star says the combination will expand its fleet coverage, as well as complement its PurpleTrac and MDA vessel compliance and tracking solutions with advanced model-based route optimisation.

“We are excited to welcome StratumFive into the Pole Star family,” says Bob Skea, CEO of Pole Star Global. “By joining forces, we are reaffirming our commitment to innovation for our customers. The Podium5 platform not only enhances our capabilities in vital voyage analytics, but also accelerates our efforts with vessel emissions transparency and planning.”

In recent years, Pole Star, which has traditionally focused on sanctions risks within maritime trade, has incorporated a more explicit focus on sustainability into its vessel screening services. In 2021, it bought Vasanda, a London-based technology startup that specialises in sustainability risk assessments of commodity transactions, while in 2020 it partnered with CarbonChain to track individual vessels’ greenhouse gas emissions, warning that some ships’ carbon emissions are five times higher than other similar vessels.