Communications Management System News

Maritime connectivity and IT solutions provider Marlink said it has signed a new service agreement with Stolt Tankers, extending a partnership between the two companies that began in 2011.Under the new agreement, Marlink will provide Stolt Tankers’ fleet of 83 chemical and parcel tankers with a bandwidth upgrade, enabling even greater digitalization of its operations. The package includes version 5.0 of Marlink’s XChange communications management system, which will deliver greater efficiency in IT management processes as well as reinforced cyber security…

Marlink has announced the launch of ITLink, a complete portfolio of IT solutions for standardizing, simplifying and automating IT operations at sea and delivering substantial time and cost savings related to on board network IT administration and management through advanced dashboard and intelligent applications.The ITLink suite is designed to service the maritime industry as a standalone service with fleet wide standardization and digitalization for ship owners. This is more important than ever to ensure to take all the advantages of remote IT intervention onboard…

Marlink has boosted satellite capacity in the Indian Ocean and around the Falkland Islands with specific focus on delivering reliable, high bandwidth VSAT services to commercial fishing vessels.The new capacity is already enabling improved vessel and fleet operations and providing greater access to voice calling and Internet for crews on a number of Spanish tuna vessels in the Indian Ocean serviced by Marlink partner Nautical, while the extra bandwidth around the Falkland Islands has been put in place to meet a predicted spike in demand as more companies look for new fishing grounds.While delivering services direct to the end-user, Marlink also partners with leading satcom providers globally, such as Nautical, to deliver multi-band services to fishing fleets.

Dutch ship owner De Poli Tankers BV has extended its contract with Marlink, securing high-bandwidth global communication using the Sealink Plus service for its fleet of eight chemical tankers and two gas tankers. De Poli Tankers' in-house ITC company, Maritime Performances BV, chose to retain the Sealink Plus service for the future as it combines high-bandwidth VSAT with unlimited L-band back-up in a single easy to manage bundle, Marlink said. De Poli Tankers first migrated to Marlink VSAT from L-band only communications in 2013…

Marlink said it has migrated Aker BioMarine’s Antarctic krill harvester fleet support ship, La Manche, to Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress service. The system provides a boost to crew communication facilities on board as well as enables vessels to benefit from improved business intelligence and remote access to the vessel’s IT network. The service uses the XChange Universal Remote Access (URA) solution, one of Marlink’s many Value Added Services available on Fleet Xpress. “Fleet Xpress has transformed our communication capabilities aboard La Manche.

Bergen headquartered Grieg Star has chosen Marlink’s Sealink VSAT Premium for its entire General Cargo Open Hatch fleet of 33 vessels. Operating on multiple routes worldwide, Grieg Star’s ships will benefit from seamless, high bandwidth global VSAT services with unlimited L-band back up included in the fixed monthly fee, ensuring continuous availability of vessel and fleet efficiency enhancing applications. Grieg Star’s decision to enable its digital operations with Sealink VSAT Premium…

Italian ship owner and long-term Telemar customer d’Amico Group has selected Marlink’s Sealink Premium Plus VSAT service to enhance connectivity across its fleet of over 50 product tankers and dry cargo vessels. Sealink Premium Plus provides global connectivity for d’Amico’s business and vessel operations, in addition to supporting crew welfare. With Sealink Premium Plus, the d’Amico fleet will receive a guaranteed Committed Information Rate (CIR) and completely unlimited Ku-band VSAT data in parallel to unlimited L-band back-up, for a single, fixed monthly fee.

Hamburg-based Leonhardt & Blumberg (L&B), one of Germany’s independent charter owner of handysize containerships, has become the first customer for Marlink’s new Sealink Business VSAT service. With Sealink Business on board, L&B’s fleet will operate using guaranteed minimum bandwidth regardless of the amount of data consumed, ensuring availability for business critical applications at all times. L&B will use its new on board communication capabilities to focus on operational improvements, including more electronic document handling and collaboration between vessels and shore-based personnel. While business processes are L&B’s primary driver for using Sealink Business, the company will also be able to improve its crew communication facilities.

Hamburg headquartered international ship operator NSC-Group has chosen Marlink to move its fleet of about 60 vessels to high bandwidth maritime VSAT. NSC-Group has chosen a 10GB data allowance per month per ship on Marlink’s Sealink VSAT, to ensure sufficient capacity is available across its fleet for all crew welfare and business/operational use. NSC-Group’s diverse fleet, consisting a mix of Container Ships, Multi-Purpose Carriers, Bulkers, Container Bulkers, Car Carriers and Tankers will all experience a significant data speed and capacity boost with Sealink VSAT services, supported by the XChange communications management system and business critical solutions such as SkyFile Mail.

United Arab Shipping (UASC) has installed Marlink’s news, entertainment and television solution XChange Media on 44 vessels. The product provides on-demand multi-lingual content to crew personal devices in an alternative manner to on-board satellite TV. UASC’s fleet is already equipped with Sealink, Marlink’s global high quality VSAT service, which provides seamless IP connectivity to optimise fleet management and electronic document handling systems, whilst providing significant bandwidth for crew communications. Deployment of XChange Media across the UASC fleet was carried out remotely and completed in less than a week. UASC increases crew satisfaction in a cost-efficient way through the provision of daily updated content on XChange Media.

NSB Niederelbe Schiffahrtsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG (REEDEREI NSB) has chosen Marlink to supply fully managed VSAT services including connectivity and an extensive business critical solutions roll-out for its entire fleet of 50+ vessels. The contract, signed early in July, positions Marlink as NSB’s primary provider of voice and connectivity services, supporting the leading German shipping company to continue improving its crew welfare and operational communication facilities with fully integrated services and solutions. In addition to the management of containerships, tankers, bulkers and offshore jack-up vessels, REEDEREI NSB, Member of NSB GROUP, is active in crewing of its own ships as well as vessels of other parties.