We’ve been covering the consolidation within the maritime tech space closely over the past 18 months. While many have been saying it is much needed to make more uniform, standard offerings, the end customer might question this when the dust settles and bills rise. The past few years have seen an over-saturation of platforms and applications, primarily due to the easy availability of investment. This has led to a situation of platform fatigue among users with consolidation seen as a necessary response to this, driven by the natural economic cycle and a user demand for simplicity and efficiency. However, simple economics shows that when there’s less competition, the end user risks stumping up more cash. The segment within maritime tech that has seen the most brand amalgamation involves automatic identification systems. Kpler has taken most of the terrestrial AIS providers. Paywalls are now up on the bulk of these. Kpler has also made it harder to buy this data for tech companies. When there’s less competition, the end user risks stumping up more cash Signal’s recent “innovation partnership” investment in Spire can be seen as a move to begin something similar in the satellite AIS space. Veson’s acquisition of VesselsValue has also seen steep price increases. I’m not against consolidation per se. The tech landscape has been confusing with too many brands offering very similar things for too long. I’m just warning you that there’s an inevitable knock-on price effect for clients. Contents Front page: Dry bulk mergers set to continueEditor’s Comment: You’ll be paying for all this maritime tech consolidationFebruary 2024 ReviewMarkets TankersMarkets Dry BulkMarkets ContainersAnalyst AbstractMonthly BrokerFeature: The rise of the seaborne ammonia tradesInterview: Bjørn Åge HjølloDataOpinion: Volatility: The spice of life TagsSplash Extra Archive Splash Extra February 2024