Maritime Defense Company Tracks Ships Around Globe
Working out of the Maritime Defense and Technology Hub in St. Petersburg, Florida, Pole Star Defense managing director Alex Field said the company is using innovative technology to track large cargo ships and oil tankers around the globe, including vessels trying to avoid detection.
Pole Star Defense has been monitoring a growing number of illicit ship-to-ship transfers in the middle of the ocean. The International Maritime Organization passed regulation after 9/11 mandating commercial vessels share their location with their flag states and other countries as the ships enter those waters. Pole Star Defense is part of that large global data-sharing operation.
Tracking Vessels, Supporting U.S. Coast Guard
The company uses innovative technology to track large cargo ships and oil tankers around the globe, including vessels trying to avoid detection. According to Field, some vessels, which include sanctioned oil tankers, go to great lengths to spoof or hide their location. Field said a growing problem the defense maritime company has been monitoring is illicit ship-to-ship transfers in the middle of the ocean.
Supporting U.S. Blockade of Sanctioned Venezuelan Oil Tankers
Pole Star Defense played an adjacent role to the U.S. blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers, referred to as the dark fleet, which began last December. The company is helping gather information around what’s going on. Much of those vessels go dark,” Field said. “Tracking all the vessels that we could coming out of Venezuela, coming into Venezuela and where they were going. As each of those vessels, I think it’s up to seven now, have been seized by U.S. Coast Guard.”
Company Expansion and Growth
Pole Star Defense is one of the first companies which moved into the Hub when it opened nearly five years ago. Field said he expects the company — which began with three employees but has now grown to a 24/7 operation with nearly 50 — to be in St. Petersburg for the long haul.
“The area is great. The ecosystem in St. Pete, lots of other small businesses focused on maritime space,” he said. “We’ve got the Coast Guard right next door here, which is our primary customer.”
Original Article: St. Pete company tracks ships trying to avoid detection around the globe — Baynews9