Board Networks News

Tore Morten Olsen, President Maritime, Marlink, discusses the pace and direction of high speed comms in maritime.Using metrics of your choice, put in perspective where we are today in terms of getting shipowners to adopt high speed communication solutions.The term broadband has been used in the maritime industry for at least a decade and if we are to follow the FCC’s definition which was upgraded to 25mbps from 4mbps (download) in 2015, then those high speed internet services are nothing of the sort.However, everything is relative.

The new RH Marine Group, formerly known as Imtech Marine was introduced at the Europort exhibition in Rotterdam today. Following the recent acquisition by Parcom Capital and Pon Holdings, Imtech Marine will now be known as RH Marine Group, built on the roots of founding companies Radio Holland and van Rietschoten & Houwens. The two ‘pillars’ for service and newbuild activities within Imtech Marine are also involved in the new naming structure. Global NavCom, Connectivity, On Board ICT service and maintenance brand Radio Holland will keep its name but will have a new logo.

Danish marine electronics company Danelec Marine informs it will oversee a working group in the European Union (EU) EfficienSea2 maritime innovation project designed to increase safety of navigation and efficiency at sea. The EU this month approved and set aside $11 million to fund the EfficienSea2 initiative, which is being spearheaded by the Danish Maritime Authority. The project consortium includes 32 partners from 12 countries. A key component of the initiative is the development of a “Maritime Cloud,” a communication tool that will improve the exchange of information for vessels at sea. The project will also yield an array of new digital services within the areas of navigation and automatic ship emission reporting and monitoring, to further increase efficiency.

Airbus Defense and Space has added new features to its XChange communications management platform with the release of version 3.1 at SMM 2014. Headlining the new version is a unique system that provides Universal Remote Access to any device connected to on board networks or the IT network itself and new functionality that builds on the recently released BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) solution for XChange. Universal Remote Access as a new option for XChange provides secure remote access to computers on board a vessel from anywhere. It meets the growing need from ship-owners, communications equipment manufacturers, satcom service providers and maritime service companies to easily access IT networks on board from shore for maintenance and troubleshooting.

Remote monitoring enables early detection of problems and correction of system faults. Imtech Marine has been awarded a three-year contract by Northern Lighthouse Board to provide VSAT systems with connectivity and value added services. The contract also includes maintenance services for the five vessels operated by Northern Lighthouse Board and Trinity House in the U.K. The five vessels maintain safe shipping lanes around the Scottish and English sectors of the British Isles coastline.