Clipper Marine Services A/S of Copenhagen, Denmark, is the latest commercial maritime operation to take advantage of the broadband access and affordable service offered by KVH Industries (Nasdaq: KVHI) and its compact TracPhone V7 satellite communications system and the mini-VSAT Broadband service. In the coming months, 22 of Clipper Tankers’ vessels will be equipped with KVH’s 24-inch (60 cm) TracPhone V7 antenna along with multiple voice service lines and broadband Internet, e-mail, and data access throughout the mini-VSAT Broadband network’s expanding global coverage area.
Clipper will continue to benefit from its Inmarsat systems and service, however, thanks to the TracPhone V7’s full compatibility with Dualog software. This solution makes it easy for Clipper crew members to utilize a wide variety of applications in a cost effective manner, with an ideal balance of the mini-VSAT Broadband and Inmarsat services.
By using mini-VSAT Broadband whenever possible, Clipper saves nearly enough in service charges each month to cover the cost of the TracPhone V7 hardware lease. To further their savings and ensure that installation expenses remain as low as possible, Clipper rounded out the field testing program with special installation training for their vessel IT employees, provided by Polaris Electronics A/S, KVH’s Danish distributor. Using what they learned during training, Clipper employees then created their own installation guides, which the crew onboard will use to perform TracPhone V7 hardware installations going forward. The vessel IT employees will follow each installation remotely, installing the Dualog software once the system is online.