Mobile Satellite System News

While debates rage in regards to safety, insurance and cyber security, the tech powering autonomous maritime operations continues to power ahead.Advances in sensor technology, data analytics and bandwidth-to-shore are fundamentally changing the way shipping works. And as operations are digitalized, they become more automated, Dr. Pierre C. Sames, Director of Group Technology & Research at class society DNV GL, has stated.Governments around the world are looking into unmanned shipping…

Global shipping and offshore oil and gas operations are increasingly dependent on integrated networks, based on various software and data transfer solutions. Systems and equipment onboard are interconnected, monitored and controlled through an onboard automation network. Onboard systems are increasingly also connected ashore to the owners’ or technology providers’ control centers. Equipment manufacturers want to remotely upgrade the software of their systems and monitor their use to be able to optimize operations and to scheduled needed maintenance service.

Marlink will provide BP Shipping with global multi-band high speed VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) services to support operational efficiency and crew communication across its tanker fleet. Under the new contract, Marlink will deliver primary communication capability on its flexible Sealink VSAT service, including MSS (Mobile Satellite System) back-up to BP’s operated fleet. BP Shipping was one of the first operators to adopt maritime VSAT services across its tanker fleet. The company’s current operated fleet will migrate to Sealink Ku-band VSAT. BP’s existing vessels will retain their C-band VSAT antennas, enabling Marlink to deliver a true multi-band broadband service with high availability of connectivity globally.

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.

The Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications Initiative (AAWA), launched by Rolls-Royce and funded by Tekes (Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation), will bring industry partners together with universities, research institutes, ship owners and other stakeholders to explore the economic, social, legal, regulatory and technological factors which need to be addressed in order to make autonomous ships a reality. Participating in this project is Inmarsat, a provider of global mobile satellite communications services…

On February 4, 2014, the IMSO Director General launched an Consultancy Program inviting appropriate experts to assist in the evaluation of mobile satellite communications systems for the GMDSS. The IMO Maritime Safety Committee, at its 94th session in November 2014, agreed that IMSO should undertake the technical and operational evaluation of the Iridium mobile satellite system to assess compliance with the relevant criteria for recognition as GMDSS satellite provider, noting that IMSO would convene a Group of Experts from the abovementioned Consultancy Program. IMSO has formalized an agreement with Iridium Satellite LLC to perform such technical and operational evaluation and the IMSO Director General has reported progress to the IMO Sub-Committee on Navigation…

Inmarsat Maritime President Frank Coles said the efficiency gains of the “Maritime Industrial Internet” are at hand, if only shipowners can grasp the potential for competitive advantage. The first satellite in the Global Xpress fleet will complete all of its testing by July of this year, with the second and third satellites on schedule to be launched by the close of 2014. The Global Xpress Maritime service is expected to become globally available from the end of the first quarter of 2015.

Stratos Global Corporation announced it has deployed an Inmarsat FleetBroadband mobile satellite system onboard the tall ship Bark Europa to broadcast coverage of the final leg of the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge between Halifax and Belfast. The system is being used by BBC Northern Ireland. The Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge 2009 (www.tallshipsraces.org) is organized by Sail Training International and the American Sail Training Assoc. In April, more than 30 tall ships began competing in a series of races that will eventually cover more than 7,000 miles including ports in Spain, Africa, Bermuda, Canada and Northern Ireland. The final leg of the race began July 20 in Halifax and is scheduled to end in Belfast on August 13.

Vizada, provider of global satellite communications, has launched SkyFile Weather, a software package for the shipping and fishing industry, which enables users to receive up-to-date and customized meteorological information regardless of the vessel’s location. The forecasts provided with SkyFile Weather are sourced directly from Météo France, an internationally-recognized meteorological centre, rather than the internet, providing access to reliable, accurate and timely information. In addition, SkyFile Weather integrates the security zones denoted by the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), an internationally recognized set of procedures, equipment types, and communication protocols designed to increase safety.