As a result, the data collected through the AIS allows for “higher optimisation on challenging routes such as the Red Sea’s Tokar Gap,” Lusk affirms.

In addition, Spire's satellites use signals from the European Union's space-based Galileo navigation system to enhance their predictions.

Lusk explains that the reason behind their decision to collect data through radio wavelengths is that having more radio satellites in orbit considerably improves data resolution, ultimately making information more accurate. Alternative solutions that use visual wavelengths require larger lenses on individual spacecraft, making it more expensive. 

Lusk describes this procedure, which is known as radio occultation (RO), as a “unique ingredient” and a “critical must-have in the maritime industry where a lack of weather data and accurate forecasting is having a massive economic impact”.

“RO data augments the accuracy of weather forecasts, by measuring the refraction of radio signals beamed through Earth's atmosphere,” he says.

He also mentions that the UK Met Office, NASA and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are some meteorological agencies to have signed up to use Spire’s data. 

According to Lusk, the current challenge facing the industry is the lack of data on initial observations. “The Pacific Ocean is huge and is currently served by one or two meteo satellites providing images on top of a handful of buoys and balloons,” he says.

This is why he claims that Spire’s satellites could be “a game-changer” in terms of safety at sea: “Imagine an 80-satellite constellation with tens of thousands of scans and balloons per day over the entire pacific ocean of the entire atmospheric column.” 

Alongside tracking weather conditions – which could reduce accidents and save lives – Lusk says the technology can also help “save the environment, reduce fuel consumption while increasing operational efficiencies” by optimising route planning.

In addition, Spire’s weather forecasting tool could help turn the tide on the prevention of cargo sweat – potentially damaging condensation that appears on cargo being shifted from warmer to colder temperatures. As Lusk details, “Shipowners need to know how best to ventilate based on relative humidity and dew point temperature forecasts.

“Our data can assist in optimising ventilation of cargo holds to prevent cargo damage.”

Finally, Spire’s technology could be used to track ships involved in the trafficking of arms, drugs, and illegal commodities. 

While technology is ubiquitous in most industries, the maritime sector has been slow to embrace it. As Lusk puts it: “The shipping industry, historically, has been a laggard when it comes to technology innovation and digital transformation.”

However, he adds that looking forward, the industry will be transformed through machine learning and data analysis. “Data is quickly becoming a part of everyday life in maritime,” he says. “From ship route and weather forecasting, to tracking accurate arrival times, data is changing maritime.”

Seeing that many more shipping companies are increasingly using modern technologies, Lusk is bullish about the company’s future prospects, and concludes that the opportunities to utilise predictive data “combined with our analysis and algorithms, [will] fundamentally change, and improve operational efficiencies within the maritime industry.”