Season's Greetings from Maritime Optima

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Dear customers, partners, and followers,

2023 will soon come to an end, and we've navigated challenges and embraced opportunities, and I want to share some of the achievements we have made in 2023. It wouldn't have been possible without the support from our valued customers, key employees, partners, and our shipping investors.

Our company slogan is Maritime Intelligence at your fingertips, so it has been since we started the company in 2019. We are committed to helping maritime professionals unlock their digital potential by providing intelligent and easy-to-use software based on industry knowledge, AI, big data, and algorithms. We develop features and products in close relationships with the users.

We have also refreshed our logos and branding to better reflect our purpose and mission.

Let's start with ShipAtlas – Live AIS ship tracking at your fingertips.
The one and only app for individuals and consumers interested in following ships.

ShipAtlas now has more than 250,000 users, and the 2023 YTD growth in the number of registered users is 310 %, and the YTD growth rate of paying users is 230 %. We have made a revised roadmap for 2024 based on feedback from the many users and changes we notice are done in competing software.

In 2023, we have launched 6 new modules in ShipIntel. Make better decisions today with tomorrow's maritime solutions. An easy-to-use, affordable, and modular team software for any company involved in maritime business enables all types, no matter company size, to take place in maritime digital transformation.

ShipIntel has been developed and launched based on feedback from the maritime professional users in ShipAtlas. So, in October this year, we officially launched theShipIntel freemium concept, where users can register a free user account and start using some of the features for free. You can invite colleagues or upgrade to paid features inside each of the modules anytime you want.

Today, all types of maritime business companies use ShipIntel daily: banks, insurance companies, ship brokers, service and equipment suppliers, shipowners, and operators. We have welcomed many new customers in 2023 from different countries, and ShipIntel has a 2023 YTD growth rate of 280 % in the number of paying customers.

Signing up for ShipIntel means you will also have a dedicated Customer Success person who will help you get the most out of your subscriptions because we want you to succeed.

In 2023, we developed and launched many sections in our Chartering AI software, the ultimate decision support system for ship owners, operators, and cargo owners. Developing and distributing the Decision support system "Chartering AI" will be the main focus in 2024.

In June 2023, we signed an agreement with Spire for global coverage of raw AIS data delivered from satellites and dynamic and terrestrial senders for all types of vessels. Together with the agreement we already had with Orbcomm, we can offer our users and customers excellent AIS global coverage of all types of merchant vessels.

We have improved our data processing pipeline by combining the live and historical AIS data with technical descriptions of the ships, information about berths and ports, and marine data acquired from public sources and partners. We spend time and knowledge in data wrangling, cleaning, unifying, and processing messy and complex data sets so the users and customers can get value from the AIS data. It is a massive advantage for us to process AIS data in-house for any type of vessels.

In 2023, we also developed and launched the advanced sea route engine, which can route from any vessel's live AIS position to any port or combination of ports in seconds and from port to port and on mobile. In 2023, the sea route also provides the shortest ECA sea route, calculates the carbon emissions, and routes through or helps you avoid different constraints.

An in-house processed AIS pipeline and a sea route engine are a perfect investment to get the most out of the new AI tech for several purposes and types of maritime analysis. We have started combining data investment with our industry knowledge for in-depth ML and AI-based analysis, offering the customers business intelligence for their qualified decisions.

In 2023, Simen and Jørgen graduated and delivered their master's thesis by using our AIS data investment, and they showed us the land of opportunity ahead. Simen focused on ship routing and live scheduling, and Jørgen focused on creating a forecasting model that uses AIS data to generate proximate estimates for financial instruments.

In 2023, we have attracted key professional shipping investors embracing our vision and ambition and embarking on our journey to become the ultimate maritime decision support system. To ensure we develop the company and our products in line with their needs, we have established ambassador meetings where the shipping executives frequently meet with our team.

Besides the product development, we have, in 2023, also taken significant steps away from a startup and become more like a scale-up; we have moved into larger offices and recruited more colleagues. We have also established in-house systems and routines, making scaling more efficient in 2024.

2023 will soon pass and become history. The post-Covid wars, the new geopolitical alliances and world order, and the launching of the first version of AI tech to the public will forever change the world we are living in.

However, we have invested for the future; our in-house AIS processing pipeline, the public data we collect, the in-house sea route engine, the modular ShipIntel software, and the flexible feature portfolio are investments bringing value for the customers and our company today and tomorrow. We are in an excellent position to be a part of the digital maritime race that has started.

In 2024, we will continue developing our innovative maritime decision-making software and grow and maintain customer satisfaction. We are grateful for all the support we have from our customers, users, shipping investors, and employees. Thanks to the users, customers, and employees who have been with us since we started the company. To the stayers and those who always are supportive and give an extra hand without being asked.

Before embarking on the journey of a new year, we will celebrate Christmas with family and friends. May this festive season bring joy, peace, and moments of relaxation together with your loved ones. However, we know many can't relax and have fun this Christmas because they live in war zones and countries in conflict, or they live in poverty or are lonely. So, this year, we have supported Leger uten grenser and Fattighuset instead of distributing Christmas presents.
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A Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year to all of you; we look forward to embarking on the new year with you.

Best regards,

Kristin Omholt-Jensen,
Chief Executive Officer