TDI-Brooks Installs Starlink on Its Research Vessels

U.S. based marine services firm TDI-Brooks announced it has installed the Starlink Maritime platform on two of its four research vessels, with plans to equip the remaining vessels at a later date.

The two vessels, Brooks McCall and Miss Emma McCall, are currently working on the U.S. East Coast performing G&G surveys for offshore wind programs. Installation of the Starlink Maritime platform is next planned for installation on the Proteus currently working in the Northern GOM and Gyre working off Trinidad.

Richard Byno, TDI-Brooks Director of Marine Operations, said, “We are enthusiastic to add this technology to our fleet. We can get usable speeds anywhere our vessels operate at a reasonably inexpensive price. We can now support and communicate with our marine crew, technical crew and clients in the field in an exceptional way.”

Starlink, a division of SpaceX, has been entering into new mobility applications that use satellite connectivity services, including maritime. There is no data cap on capacity, and users will likely get download speed rates between 60-150 Mbps. Maximum peak speeds are stated at 350 Mbps. Upload speed is stated to be around 10-20Mbps, depending on the region and congestion of vessels/assets per area. Maximum peak speeds are stated at 40 Mbps.

Since launch in January 2020, Starlink’s constellation comprises around 2,400 small satellites in orbit today. In July 2022, the firm launched its maritime service, which offers high-speed, low-latency internet with the potential of up to 350 Mbps download speeds while at sea. Starlink has created accessibility to roughly 11,500 maritime vessels for its connectivity services.