World First: Activation of Commercial Iridium GMDSS onboard Norwegian Trawler

The town of Haugesund, Norway, home to busy waterways dotted with fishing and shipping vessels, was home to a maritime 'world first', with the announcement of the world’s first commercial Iridium GMDSS installation.

The Norwegian trawler Trygvason has put to sea following installation of two Lars Thrane LT-3100S GMDSS terminals by local marine services company Brommeland Elektronikk A/S, with Iridium GMDSS service provided by remote communications solutions provider, Applied Satellite Technology (AST). 

The terminal manufactured by Lars Thrane A/S is the only GMDSS terminal paired with Iridium’s global network.

“When it comes to safety and communications, our maritime customers demand choice, capability and above all, absolute dependability from their services and suppliers” said Gregory Darling, AST’s Group Managing Director. “The launch of Iridium’s GMDSS service expands the options available to our seafaring customers, delivers significant additional capability and provides an IMO-approved, truly global distress service”. He added “I’m delighted and incredibly proud to be part of this latest innovation at sea”.

As well as voice and SMS, the LT-3100S features a unique Distress Alert & Safety Voice capability and a red button which, when pressed alerts the RCC and puts the vessel’s crew in direct conversation with an operator within 30 seconds.