Presight and Quartermaster Agree to Pair Ship-Mounted Sensors With AI for UAE Maritime Security

Under the agreement, Quartermaster's SmartMast system would be combined with Presight's AI, analytics and intelligence platforms. SmartMast turns working commercial vessels into points in a distributed sensing network: optical, infrared and radio-frequency sensors are mounted on a ship's mast, and edge AI on board captures and analyses activity on the water. The partners say they will look at vessel tracking, anomaly detection and the protection of critical maritime infrastructure, with security authorities and port operators as the intended users.

Because the data would come from ships already at sea, the approach could cover busy trade lanes and offshore energy sites that fixed coastal radar and satellites miss or revisit only occasionally. Quartermaster chief executive Neil Sobin has argued that the standard Automatic Identification System, which relies on vessels broadcasting their own position, is opt-in and easy to spoof.

Sobin said Quartermaster is "turning working vessels into a distributed sensing network", and that combining its data with Presight's AI could turn maritime data into intelligence that authorities can act on. Adel Alsharji, Presight's chief operating officer, said "Maritime security is increasingly dependent on the ability to understand and respond to activity", and that the partnership would strengthen situational awareness around critical infrastructure.

The memorandum is exploratory. The companies have announced no products, timelines or financial terms, and say they intend to expand to other international markets as the partnership develops.

Quartermaster, based in Arlington, Virginia, raised a $43 million Series A round in May led by First Round Capital and Quiet Capital. At the time it said more than 600 ships were carrying SmartMast and that they had covered 10 million square miles of ocean.

The UAE is already running other AI maritime monitoring projects, including the Dubai Police AI Maritime Centre, which combines smart surveillance, radar and cameras to watch the emirate's coastline.