Marine Telecommunications News

The market for marine services in support of the installation and maintenance of undersea telecommunications cables has matured over a period of more than 100 years to reach its present state of development. The largest providers of marine services (companies such as the Global Marine Group, SubCom, Alcatel Submarine Networks and Orange Marine) take different approaches to operations, but provide a mature and assured set of services that play a critical role in the industry. Marine services support the suppliers of undersea cable systems (delivering 50…

Oman to roll out the national maritime communications network along its lengthy coastline soon, says Al-Madakhel Investment that has been tasked with design, construction and operation of the new maritime communications network. A report in Oman Daily Observer says that the Muscat-based Al Madakhel is implementing the ambitious project under a licence issued to the company to build, operate and the upgrade Oman's maritime communications infrastructure. The company has the mandate to establish and operate the requisite infrastructure for the provision of general marine telecommunications services in the Sultanate. A senior company official…

Vard Holdings Limited  secured contracts with joint ventures of DOF Subsea and Technip for the design and construction of four Pipe Lay Support Vessels (PLSVs), a contract which is the largest order in VARD’s history, with an aggregate order value of approximately $ 1.1 billion (NOK 6.5 billion). Two of the vessels, of VARD 3 05 design (151 x 30 m) will be delivered in 2Q 2016 and 3Q 2016 respectively. The hulls of these vessels will be built at Vard Tulcea in Romania and outfitted at Vard Søviknes in Norway.

DOF Subsea Group has contracted with STX OSV for the construction of an Offshore Subsea Construction Vessel (OSCV). The new ship will be of OSCV 12 design, developed by STX OSV with a total length of about 161 meters and a beam of 32 meters. Delivery is scheduled in the first quarter of 2015. The DOF Subsea Group is a specialist subsea service business that provides subsea construction, subsea engineering, inspection, repair and maintenance and survey services which involve complex and challenging engineering in an international environment.

MariTEL is nearing completion of its Gulf Coast and lower Mississippi region’s marine wireless VHF radiotelephone network. Launched in June 2001, the network provides mariners affordable and reliable direct dial, automatically connected marine telephone calls vessel location and touch tone services. By the end of 2001, the region will have 29 sites providing coverage from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Sarasota, Fla. Six more towers slated for completion in Spring 2002 will provide uninterrupted marine telecommunications coverage from the Mexican border to Ft. Myers, Fla., and the lower Mississippi River to Memphis, Tenn. MariTEL will introduce its privacy service later this month and e-mail service in March 2002. Privacy service will completely scramble a MariTEL VHF radiotelephone call.

Mobex Communications has entered into an agreement with American Commercial Lines (ACL) for its subsidiary Waterway Communications System LLC (Watercom), which is a provider of automated ship-to-shore voice, data and telecommunication services. Headquartered in Jeffersonville, Ind., Watercom provides communications for towboats, yachts, dredges, survey vessels, cruise/dinner boats and gaming vessels in more than 20 states on the Gulf of Mexico, as well as those situated along the Mississippi, Illinois and Ohio Rivers. The agreement calls for Watercom to continue its services for ACL, and gives Mobex control of Watercom's customer base, which encompasses 80 channels in each of 33 markets, broadcasting at 217 MHz under the Automated Marine Telecommunications Service (AMTS).

Walking into Bob Dickinson's spacious office at Carnival Corp.'s Miami, Fla. headquarters, one would be shocked to hear that he isn't in the cruise business to make money. Many executives would be eager to find out how the president of the world's largest cruise line can live by this philosophy. Dickinson, who has served as president of Carnival since May 1993, met recently with MR/EN to shed some light on how his strategies and ideas have kept his company at the top of the cruise industry funnel. By Regina P. Sitting down for a chat with Bob Dickinson is like mixing business with pleasure — you get the job done with a little humor added into the fray. But ask Dickinson what angers him about the cruise industry, and the smile that is usually present, quickly disappears.

MariTel announces that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has certified a new radio transceiver, which is a vital component in MariTel's new VHF marine communications network. Maritel is building the modern network to provide the maritime community with automatic telephone interconnect link using marine DSC radiotelephones. Once completed, the MariTel network will be comprised of 286 radio towers positioned along the coast and inland navigable waterways of the U.S. These towers are designed to provide seamless coverage for VHF marine telecommunications and links to landline telephones anywhere in the world.

When a call must go through, many mariners rely on MariTEL for all-around superior VHF marine telecommunications. MariTEL, the nation's leading provider of VHF marine communications, with offices in Gulfport, Miss.; New York, Washington D.C., and New Orleans, currently offers coverage of more than 7,000 miles of coastline and rivers. "I was inside the harbor at Block Island, Rhode Island, surrounded by hills, and MariTEL…some 20 miles away - picked up the call instantly and delivered the best ship-to-shore connection I've ever had," said Capt. Chris Kelly. Mariners who own a VHF radio appreciate it for its power and dependability, and MariTEL…