WASHINGTON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - French maritime data

analytics platform Kpler wants to buy ship tracking company

Spire Maritime, whose satellite data is a vital resource for oil

traders and shipping companies, but some Spire customers fear

Kpler will cut them off and have raised antitrust concerns to

U.S. authorities, sources familiar with the matter say.

The $241 million deal announced on Nov. 13 would give Kpler

control over Spire's satellites and maritime Automatic

Identification System (AIS) data stream, which tracks ships

globally, particularly in the open ocean, with a refresh rate of

every 15 minutes.

This capability is unmatched by competitors, including

Orbcomm, which has 7-10 satellites and takes about 36 hours to

update.

Spire's advanced technology allows it to track tens of

thousands more ships than its competitors, making it an

attractive information source for various customers including

cargo trackers, the U.S. Department of Defense and intelligence

agencies. The data is also used by commercial maritime companies

and commodities and energy desks at Wall Street firms who use it

to trade oil contracts.

Other customers include Maxar Intelligence, Polestar Global,

Lloyd's List Intelligence, Windward, Vortexa, MapLarge as well

as shipping and cruise companies, the people said.

Veson Nautical, which lists Cargill and Trafigura among its

customers, and ShipTracks, which serves Chevron, are among the

analytics companies that use Spire data.

If the deal goes through Spire will still service existing

contracts with the U.S. government for maritime data.

However, the acquisition has raised concerns that software

and analytics customers who rely on Spire's AIS data, and may

compete in some applications with Kpler, could lose access to

that data if the deal goes forward.

Kpler has been actively acquiring competitors to strengthen

its marine traffic and fleet monitoring capabilities. There is a

worry that this vertical integration could also impact pricing

and stifle innovation, said the sources.

Spire's data is also used in products offered by LSEG Data &

Analytics. LSEG pays Reuters for news.

Kpler's acquisition spree has already raised eyebrows in the

industry. In recent years, the company has bought up several

competitors including UK-based maritime data provider

MarineTraffic and Norwegian firm Nortek. These acquisitions have

expanded Kpler's capabilities and market share but have also

raised concerns about the company's growing dominance in the

maritime data market.

Kpler's acquisition of MarineTraffic, which was previously a

major competitor in the AIS data market, led to a loss of data

access for some analytics companies that were outside Kpler's

targeted customer base, the sources said.