Integrated Communications News

Realizing the full value of digital solutions far exceeds the capability of technology. The technology exists today to help offshore energy and maritime operators radically improve efficiency and cut costs in equal measure. The real trick to driving efficiencies is to take advantage of the latest technologies while at the same time negotiating the necessary culture change within individual organizations, to really reap the benefits.Harvest Technology Group is a relatively young and small Australian company that has caught the attention of a number of offshore and subsea industry heavyweights…

HII announced on Wednesday that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division promoted Kimberly Nastasi to vice president of the newly formed integrated communications and stakeholder engagement department. This new department will enhance communication and engagement with key stakeholders inside and outside of the shipbuilding community.As vice president of integrated communications and stakeholder engagement, Nastasi will report to Ingalls Shipbuilding President Kari Wilkinson and will be responsible for leading internal and external efforts in marketing and communications…

Iridium Communications Inc. announced the commercially availability of its Iridium Certus 100 "midband" service for maritime, land mobile, IoT, aviation and government customers. Iridium Certus 100 provides a blend of capabilities for satellite connectivity, enabling small, low-profile antennas and battery-powered devices designed for maximum mobility, but with IP data speeds that efficiently support sending important pictures, emails and other vital information from remote places…

L3Harris Technologies said it has received a contract from Eastern Shipbuilding Group to provide the integrated communications system for the U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG) Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC).The Coast Guard has said that the OPC program is the highest acquisition priority in the Coast Guard, providing the capability bridge between the National Security Cutter and Fast Response Cutter.The initial award to L3Harris includes the design, development and production of the first two ship systems with options for up to as many as four OPC systems.

London-based maritime and offshore media agency Wake Media announced it is partnering with UK integrated communications group Bray Leino to expand its consumer and business marketing services across multiple industries.Steve Parks, Managing Director at Wake Media, said, “Partnering with Bray Leino enables us to be adaptable and serve the forward-thinking companies we believe in. Intelligent partnerships such as this will allow us to extend our marketing capacity as needed, with the assurance and added benefit of utilizing our unprecedented network of maritime connections and Marcoms know-how.”Parks continued, “With everything we do virtually under one roof…

Rotterdam based ship management company Misuga Kaiun Holland B.V. selected Marlink to provide unlimited global Sealink VSAT connectivity for its dry bulk, multipurpose and wood chip carrier vessel fleet. Marlink will install one meter Ku-band antennas and integrate a package of solutions and applications designed to provide secure connectivity for business and operations as well as crew welfare.Misuga Kaiun Holland B.V. is the European subsidiary of Japan headquartered Misuga Kaiun Co., Ltd.

Dubai-based Topaz Energy and Marine has signed an agreement with Orange Business Services for a Maritime Connect solution that connects its fleet at sea and supports the corporate network. Topaz is an offshore support vessel company for the global energy industry. The Orange integrated communications platform increases the efficiency of the fleet, lowers cost and improves the onboard experience for crew. Under a three-year agreement Orange is initially connecting 39 vessels from the Topaz fleet…

Cohort company EID has been awarded a contract by the Portuguese Navy for the supply of Integrated Communications systems to the Tejo class coastal patrol vessels. The €4.6 million contract encompasses the supply of radio equipment, ICCS, integration engineering and logistic services. The contract also includes additional supplies for the second batch of the Viana do Castelo Oceanic Patrol Vessels, being built by West Sea shipyards in the North West city of Viana do Castelo. “We have been supplying communications systems to the Portuguese Navy ships since 1985.

Fincantieri, one of the world’s largest shipbuilding groups and reference player in the naval shipbuilding industry, and Finmeccanica, Italy’s leading manufacturer in the high technology sector, have been awarded the contract for the construction and equipment of one multipurpose amphibious unit (LHD) for the Italian Navy. The total value of the contract is over 1.1 billion euros, with Fincantieri’s share amounting to approx. 853 million euros and Finmeccanica's to about 273 million euros. The delivery of the unit is scheduled in 2022. The contract with the consortium (Raggruppamento Temporaneo di Impresa – RTI), consisting of Fincantieri…

This milestone was reached with the installation of a FleetBroadband 500(TM) on Olympic Future, a Greek-flagged crude oil tanker, by Inmarsat's distribution partner OTESAT-Maritel. Springfield Shipping, the vessel's management company, selected FleetBroadband as part of an integrated communications solution developed by OTESAT-Maritel. "This solution is an optimal match for our ICT needs, and we are pleased with the comprehensive service offering and first-class support that we have received," said a company spokesperson. Frank Coles, President of Inmarsat Maritime, said, "This is a significant achievement that yet again demonstrates the high regard and continued demand for FleetBroadband in the maritime industry.

Doha, Qatar – HMS Daring, the first of the Royal Navy's (RN’s) Type 45 destroyers, will be on display at the Doha International Maritime Defense Exhibition & Conference (DIMDEX) this month, showcasing her  new, fully digital, radar electronic support measures (RESM) system, supplied by Thales UK. Daring will join the extensive warship display at Doha as part of DIMDEX, which runs from March 26-28. The ship has recently set sail on operational duty, following the recent outfitting of the new digital antennas as part of the UK Ministry of Defense’s  UAT MOD 2 update program.

The first of the Royal Navy's (RN’s) Type 45 destroyers, HMS Daring, has set sail on operational duty fitted with Thales UK's new fully digital radar electronic support measures (RESM) system. The platform, the first of the Daring class, has been fitted with new digital antennas supplied by Thales as part of the UAT MOD 2 update programme. In conjunction with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), Thales has developed the direct radio frequency sampling and wideband digital receiver technology necessary to achieve a true digital antenna.

Sandigan reports improved applications performance and crew productivity. Stratos Global, the leading global provider of advanced mobile and fixed-site remote communications solutions, today announced it has been selected by Sandigan Ship Services, Inc. to deploy the Inmarsat FleetBroadband satellite communications service on Sandigan’s fleet of commercial vessels. Based in The Philippines, Sandigan manages a global fleet that includes bulk carriers and car carriers. FleetBroadband from Stratos already has been successfully deployed on 12 Sandigan vessels.

RigNet, Inc., a provider of managed remote communications solutions for the upstream oil and gas industry, recently announced the expansion of its contract with Hercules Offshore to provide managed remote communications to its fleet of jackup drilling rigs and U.S. Gulf of Mexico-based inland barges. Under the previous contract, RigNet provided managed communication services to most Hercules Offshore rigs operating outside of the United States. This recent agreement expands the contract to include the company's jackup rigs and inland barges in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, including the recently-acquired rigs from Seahawk Drilling. With managed communications solutions provided by RigNet, Hercules Offshore's remote personnel can now access critical enterprise data, voice and broadband Internet.

L-3 Maritime Systems has been awarded a contract from General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems to supply its Seaframe Control System for the next Independence variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The contract is for the first ship and includes options for an additional 14 ships. L-3 Maritime Systems’ Seaframe Control System will provide advanced automation and control of the ship’s propulsion, electrical, ventilation and other machinery systems. The system’s automation capabilities successfully achieve the reduced manning requirements mandated for the U.S. Navy’s newest class of surface ship combatants. “We are pleased to deliver affordable, open architecture solutions to the U.S.

San Diego, California, April 5, 2011: Boatracs Inc., a leader in providing integrated communications and software solutions to the maritime industry, announced today it has completed the installation of BT Forms, an electronic forms product, on 14 vessels for United Barge Lines (UBL), the inland transportation division of United Maritime Group. The project entailed the conversion of UBL’s Master’s Daily Log into an electronic form that captains can complete with their on-board PC, providing an efficient and easy-to-use form that transmits data in a cost effective and timely manner.

San Diego, California, March 8, 2011: Boatracs Inc., a leader in providing integrated communications and software solutions to the maritime industry, announced today it is building a powerful new web-based software platform. Boatracs has partnered with TransIT Solutions, a software provider for the transportation and logistics industry, to accelerate the development of the new solution. The partnership combines TransIT Solutions’ strength in developing Internet-based GPS applications…

Members of the media were invited to participate in the launch and get underway on a new law enforcement and search and rescue vessel at Coast Guard Station New York on Staten Island Friday, Dec. 19, 2008 at 10 a.m. The 45-foot Response Boat – Medium (RB-M) was delivered to Coast Guard Station New York on Dec. 11, 2008 and is the third initiative in the Response Boats 2010 strategic vision and transition plan. “If you look at the 41-foot and 45-foot vessels side by side, you can definitely see that our new response boat is much more advanced,” said Lt. Patrick Gallagher, Station New York’s executive officer. “The vessel is much faster and more maneuverable, has integrated communications and easier access to Coast Guard systems.

The Lockheed Martin Coast Guard Systems team participated in the power up of the first set of electronic cabinets and consoles of the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) system onboard the U.S. Coast Guard's second National Security Cutter, Waesche (WMSL 751). Lockheed Martin's C4ISR systems will provide Waesche's crew with a common operating picture to aid coordination among helicopters, aircraft, other ships and shore facilities. The system has an open architecture design and provides interoperability, assuring that the Coast Guard can work with multiple federal, regional and state agencies and organizations to maintain maritime domain awareness and accomplish homeland security missions.

Thrane & Thrane introduces its new maritime high-speed terminal, Capsat® Fleet77.Orders for more than DKK 14 million have been received. Shipment of the Capsat® Fleet77 will commence soon. As the first manufacturer Thrane & Thrane will introduce a new maritime high-speed terminal for Inmarsat’s Fleet F77 service. The new terminal, Capsat® Fleet77, is a competitive alternative to the present Inmarsat-B terminals typically used on large merchant and fishing vessels. This is a new market for Thrane & Thrane and has an annual value of approximately $30 million. Since the Capsat® Fleet77 was unveiled at the Europort fair in November 2001, Thrane & Thrane has received orders for more than $2 million from approximately 30 distribution partners. Shipment of the Capsat® Fleet77 will commence soon.

By Chief William J. Feller, NTTC Corry Station Public AffairsA revolution in Navy training is under way at Naval Technical Training Center (NTTC), Corry Station as the school reached a milestone in cryptologic training. Twelve new Fleet-ready cryptologic technicians graduates became the first Cryptologic Technician Maintenance/Operator (CTM/CTO) class to use the Network-Centric Common Core curriculum.In his recent address to the Naval War College’s annual Current Strategy Forum, the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), Adm. Vern Clark, unveiled “Seapower 21” and introduced the term “FORCEnet,” which refers to Navy efforts to make the concept…

The U.S. Navy's Expeditionary Strike Group 7 ships left Brisbane, Australia, on June 10, while amphibious ships of Royal Australian Navy began the embarkation of Australian soldiers in northern neighbor Townsville, launching the force integration training (FIT) phase of Talisman Saber 2007 (TS07). TS07 is a joint and combined exercise demonstrating and improving on the U.S.-Australian military alliance that will feature crisis action planning and the execution of contingency response operations in land, sea and air maneuvers. More than 20,000 U.S. and 12,000 Australian personnel will participate in the military training exercise set to enhance interoperability and regional stability.

DRS Technologies has received a $7m contract from the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. to provide fiber-optic data multiplex system (FODMS) – navigation sensor distributors for the second KDX-III destroyer of the Republic of Korea’s Navy (ROKN). The FODMS is a general-purpose, dual-network system that provides data and integrated communications between propulsion and power control systems, steering, navigation sensors, weapons systems — as well as Aegis combat systems. It is a complete information transfer system designed to meet evolving ship communications requirements and to handle data that are critical to ship operations.