Remote Monitoring Equipment News

Satellite communications company Inmarsat has opened a new office at the Norwegian Maritime Competence Center (NMCC) based in Ålesund, Norway, to continue to drive the digitalization of the shipping industry. The opening of the facility in the heart of Norway’s leading edge maritime community, signals Inmarsat’s intention to intensify work with third party innovators and digital disrupters to exploit high-speed broadband via Fleet Xpress through its Certified Applications Provider (CAP) program, the company said.

Protecting Workers, and Ensuring Safe Sailing for the Maritime Industry. The cable-laying vessel GS Global Sentinel was undergoing repair work. Shipyard workers and members of the ship’s crew found a mysteriously high hydrogen sulfide reading in a confined space on board that created a toxic environment. They could not understand why. What caused this potentially lethal scenario? After investigation and safe entry into the tank, crewmembers of the vessel and shipyard workers discovered…

GPLink’s remote monitoring equipment has been installed on hundreds of Cat powered vessels throughout the world. The company has recently announced that its product has received its first integration on a non-Caterpillar power package. In March, Spencer Yachts splashed their latest build, an 87-foot sportfish yacht named Bangarang, equipped with twin MTU M94 2600 horsepower diesels capable of propelling this mammoth vessel to a cruising speed of 40 knots. These powerful engines are also the first MTUs to receive the GPLink Remote Monitoring system.

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.