High Speed Communications News

Mobile satellite communications company Inmarsat aid it has made its Fleet Xpress maritime broadband service available to shipyards. Installed during new building, Fleet Xpress for Shipyards eliminates time-consuming and costly installation works in port, offering owners a pre-fitted very small aperture terminal (VSAT) solution included in the initial cost of the vessel, the company said.“Fleet Xpress for Shipyards is a game-changer for shipbuilders and owners alike, streamlining installation…

Inmarsat now offers Fleet Xpress for Shipyards, which is designed to eliminates time-consuming and costly installation works in port, offering owners a pre-fitted very small aperture terminal (VSAT) solution included in the initial cost of the vessel.“Fleet Xpress for Shipyards is a game-changer for shipbuilders and owners alike, streamlining installation, providing remote connectivity from vessel launch and enabling optimal integration between integral onboard systems,” said Ben Palmer, President, Inmarsat Maritime.

Japan's Nagashiki Shipping said on Friday the grounding of one of its large bulk carriers that caused an ecological disaster in Mauritius was due to a lack of safety awareness and a failure to follow rules as it pledged better training and oversight.The findings were assumptions based on interviews with crew members, the company said.A bulk carrier owned by Nagashiki and chartered by Mitsui OSK ran aground on a reef in Mauritius in July and began leaking oil, causing an ecological disaster in the pristine seas around the Indian Ocean island.

International ship management company Zodiac Maritime has extended its satellite communications agreement with Satcom Global, rolling out flagship VSAT service, Satcom Global Aura, across its globally trading fleet of tankers, bulk carriers and container ships. To date, 36 vessels are live on the Aura network enjoying reliable high-speed communications, and upwards of 80 will be installed on Zodiac-managed vessels by the end of the year.Committed to providing seafarers with a superior quality of life aboard its vessels…

RigNet, Inc., a global provider of remote managed offshore communications solutions, telecoms systems integration services and collaborative applications to the oil and gas industry, today announced that it has signed an agreement with Inmarsat to offer Fleet Xpress, the maritime version of its Global Xpress service, to the oil and gas maritime sector. The agreement will enable RigNet to extend high-speed communications to offshore service and supply vessels within the oil and gas industry across the globe. “RigNet differentiates itself in the oil and gas industry by providing fit-for-purpose technologies to help our energy customers operate remotely in a more productive, efficient and safe manner,” said Mark Slaughter, RigNet’s CEO and President.

iDirect Government Technologies, Inc. (iGT), a wholly owned subsidiary of VT iDirect, Inc. (iDirect), today announced the availability of iDX 3.2.3 software, which meets the  military, intelligence and public safety communities growing needs for increased bandwidth and higher throughputs. iDX 3.2.3 features Adaptive Time Division Multiple Access (ATDMA), which improves return channel performance and increases network availability under rain fade and satellite link degradation. The software enables customers to design networks for a typical case scenario instead of worse-case scenario, saving time, costs and complexity without loss of performance.

Forum Subsea Technologies has officially launched Tomahawk, the latest addition to its range of multi-role remote operated vehicles (ROVs). Tomahawk has been built to be fast and agile and it shares the same 35kw power system and thrusters as Forum’s largest electric, the Comanche. It is manufactured by Sub-Atlantic, a product line of Forum Subsea Technologies, at its facility in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Forum’s Sub-Atlantic product range includes the Comanche, Mohican, Super Mohawk, Mohawk, Mojave and Navajo Electric ROV Systems and subCAN high-speed communications data network system. Forum Subsea Technologies is also a propulsion supplier to work-class ROV builders…

Telenor Satellite Services announced that PGS Geophysical of Norway has renewed its global satellite communications agreement with Telenor through June 2005. Telenor first began providing communications via satellite to PGS in 1995. The current agreement calls for Telenor to continue to provide its fully-managed Sealink service to a PGS Geophysical fleet of 14 high tech 3D seismic vessels operating around the world. PGS Geophysical acquires, processes, markets, and sells high quality seismic data worldwide. Oil and gas companies use this data to explore for and develop new hydrocarbon fields and to manage fields in production. The Sealink system provides corporate voice and high-speed data communications…

OSLO, Norway and ROCKVILLE, Maryland (October 27, 2003) - Marlink today announced that it has signed a five-year agreement with the owners of the MV Mona Lisa, represented by Kyma Ship Management, Inc. of Miami, Florida, to provide complete satellite communications onboard the vessel. The agreement calls for Marlink, a company within Telenor Satellite Services formed to serve as the preferred interface between maritime customers and the satellite communications industry, to provide Sealink high-speed communications service. Operating at speeds up to 2 Megabits per second, the Sealink solution allows guests and crew to enjoy greater access to the Internet, e-mail, fax services, and telephone service.

PetroCom LLC has begun construction and testing of the first digital cellular network in the Gulf of Mexico. Working with partners Siemens and Ericsson, PetroCom is introducing GSM technology to provide secure and high-speed communications for companies in the multi-billion dollar offshore industry. With offices in Houston, New Orleans and Lafayette, La., PetroCom is a cellular provider in the Gulf, with a coverage area stretching from Brownsville, Texas to Mobile, Ala. and as far offshore as 180 miles. For oil and gas companies, maritime operators and government agencies in the Gulf, secure and reliable communication is indispensable for remaining competitive.

As technologically advanced as communications have become, the bottom line, particularly for business applications, remains basically the same: the need for clear, reliable and cost-effective means to communicate. Trends in the transmission of data, voice and e-mail from ship-to-shore are much like that of land-based operations. The need for more speed and increased reliability are never ending, and the companies that excel are the ones that not only continually innovate, but those that consistently stay on the front of the curve to deliver real-world technologies that deliver benefits in the unique maritime operational environment. In parallel, price pressures are ubiquitous, as shipowners are keen to exploit every outlet to cut costs and generate revenue.

Satellite Services, has announced that the Fleet service is now available to customers on a global basis. Telenor's Fleet service offers the maritime community the most advanced mobile satellite communications technology available for high-speed commercial communications and enhanced safety at sea. Available to all ocean regions through Telenor's Eik Land Earth Station in Norway and its Santa Paula, Calif. facility in the U.S., Telenor's Fleet service via Inmarsat delivers a wide range of commercial communications needs for voice, fax and data services at speeds of up to 64 kbps, including the rapid mobile Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and the new, resource-efficient Mobile Packet Data Service.

Teekay Shipping Corporation and Connexion by Boeing, a business unit of The Boeing Company signed an agreement that makes Teekay the international launch customer for the Connexion by Boeing Maritime Service. The maritime service is designed to allow vessels in mid-ocean transit to experience global high-speed communications at affordable rates. The agreement calls for the high-speed communications service to be fitted on 50 of Teekay's vessels, with an option to install on an additional 40. "As we worked closely with Connexion by Boeing during the service trial last year, we were very impressed by the power and potential the technology provides," said Graham Westgarth, president of Teekay Marine Services, a business unit of Teekay Shipping Corporation.

Hurtigruten's fleet of cruise and transport vessels. in 2000. Europe, the United States, and South America. Greenland. and transport vessels. additional vessels that are slated for European and Antarctic cruises. available on a leased basis to ships at sea. as well as ocean-going transportation and supply operations. Stations.

communications. experience the service before making a long-term commitment. the Connexion by Boeing online service management tools -- for four months. agreement. satellite to a vessel. weather, routing and port information.

Telenor Satellite Services announced the signing of a contract with Fugro Survey Limited of Aberdeen, United Kingdom, for Sealink maritime high-speed data communications aboard three of the company's survey and research vessels. Under the terms of the annual agreement, Telenor will provide Ku-Band service for two of Fugro's site survey vessels, both operating in the North Sea. Telenor will also install a new combined "quick change" C- and Ku-Band system aboard a third vessel, operating globally. Ku-Band provides Fugro the capability to use high-speed communications applications at sea including LAN and WAN connectivity, video conferencing, and Internet access, while using smaller, less expensive shipboard equipment.

The U.S. Coast Guard is deploying Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) based on 3Com's wide area network (WAN) systems). 3Com, which secures, high speed communications between shore facilities and vessels docked at port facilities around the world, uses VPN connections. These connections allow the agency to quickly transmit mission-critical and pertinent administrative information from its land-based location to ships at any port where Coast Guard vessel dock. The process, which was first utilized in June on the cutter Dependable, will soon be branched out to all of the Coast Guard's 250-plus vessels. Based on 3Com's SuperStack II NetBuilder SI routers…

Telenor Satellite Services today announced the signing of a business agreement with Anders Utkilens Rederi (AUR) of Norway, one of northern Europe's largest maritime chemical transportation companies. The contract calls for Telenor to provide its Sealink maritime high-speed data communications solution aboard AUR's fleet of 16 chemical tanker vessels. Under the terms of this multi-year agreement, Telenor will provide Ku-Band service for AUR's entire fleet that operates primarily throughout European waters. Sealink's Ku- Band service provides AUR the capability to use high-speed communications applications at sea including LAN and WAN connectivity, video conferencing, and Internet access, while using smaller, less expensive shipboard equipment.