Jan De Nul Hires Castor Marine to Connect Its Whole Fleet

Offshore installation and dredging contractor Jan De Nul Group has moved its entire fleet of 82 units to Castor Marine’s global VSAT and Iridium connectivity network on a long-term contract.

Castor Marine will provide global VSAT internet and Iridium L-Band services to the entire fleet of almost 80 dredgers, offshore construction vessels, crane vessels, and (environmental) support vessels.

Castor Marine said Tuesday it had migrated 98% of the fleet within 3 months after contract signing, with up to 6 migrations a day. 

Included in the internet package are onboard voice services based on local Belgian telephone numbers for the vessels, which allows cost efficient phone calls at local rates. 

Along with the VSAT, Iridium and VoIP services, Castor Marine delivered 15 new Sailor 900 VSAT antennas and Sailor 4300 Iridium Certus antennas replacing existing hardware onboard. 

For the newbuild next-generation, offshore jack-up installation vessel Voltaire and the offshore heavy lift vessel Les Alizés, Castor Marine supplied a completely new set of antenna systems based on the recently launched Sailor 1000 XTR VSAT antennas, including below deck equipment.