The FV Aart Maaskant (UK95) is was one of the first Dutch commercial fishing vessels to be fitted with Iridium OpenPort. Gannexion BV, an Iridium service partner, installed the Iridium high-bandwidth terminal to replace the existing satcom system on the 139 ft beam trawler, which operates in the North Sea. Jan de Boer, the vessel’s owner and captain, said, “Iridium OpenPort is always online. The crew is using the free e-mail service offered by Gannexion BV to send and receive messages at sea. The e-mail software also permits them to access Websites to download information on an adjustable schedule. “The captain sets the Iridium OpenPort terminal to automatically receive the weather forecast twice a day,” said Patrick Albers, service engineer, Gannexion BV.
