Category: Blog

Many maritime companies are including “onboard internet services” in the recruitment of prospective employee’s as retention and the welfare of the crew has become a major priority for ship operators.

“Younger crew will, apparently, refuse to join a ship that does not have the internet,” says Inmarsat’s head of maritime business, James Collett.

So the presence of mobile satellite communications onboard is not necessarily good for the bottom line but has become a necessity for the personnel on the vessels.

“Younger ships’ captains and crew joining a fleet will escalate an increase in bandwidth needs because they understand what this facility means to people onboard,” says James.

“Many older captains still have the attitude that it’s nice but not essential, yet can be heard complaining about the five hours it takes for an email to get from shore to ship.”

AP Moller-Maersk, a leading marine shipping company put its crew first by having marine satellite services outfitted on hundreds of their ships.

As archaic as the situation seems, before marine satellite services were implemented, the crew could only make voice calls from a single satellite phone with prepaid sim cards and email restricted to 2 messages daily while at sea. Since the satellite communications upgrade, the crew now has access to unlimited email and internet browsing via a WiFi connection accessible on their laptops in any area of the ship. As an example, the merchant tanker Eleonora allocates roughly 25% of the satellite airtime for business operations such as company voice calls and data transfer with 75% set aside for the crew to communicate with the outside world.

“One of the biggest challenges for seafarers remains the isolation and loneliness while at sea and it’s proven that communications technology reduces the stress of being away from family,” says James.

“There is no getting away from the fact that the web has taken over much of our lives.

“At sea or on land, the digital revolution is running our lives faster with email, smartphone apps, and MP3 music files.

“Many people onboard will run their bank accounts, friendships, and even dental appointments via the web.”

Social networking has become the norm for individuals at sea as a way to keep in the conversations back on the mainland with family and friends via Facebook and Twitter.

“It makes business sense to invest in solutions that gain respect, trust and loyalty from seafarers to prevent their skills and experience being lost,” adds James.

Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN Service) is unique in offering world wide simultaneous mobile broadband data with voice on a truly portable device. It is also the first such device to offer “guaranteed” 256K streaming for live video and video conferencing.

Based in Perth Western Australia, Haines Surveys uses gravimeters to provide a kind of “X-ray vision” – seeing through rock – looking for clues as to what minerals are present in the ground. Haines personnel travel to the remotest parts of Australia in search of mining opportunities, marking those locations that hold promise using GPS tracking antennas.

In the past, Haines had to send highly paid geophysicists to the sites to gather the data who then often had to travel many miles to find an internet connection so that they could transmit their findings back to the office. The advent of the BGAN Service has greatly speeded up the process by providing on site satellite internet connectivity which allows for locally trained, less expensive technicians to collect the data and then immediately transmit it to the geophysicists back at the office for analysis.

The company’s co-founder and director, Richard Haines had already utilized satcom equipment for remote voice communications. For the past 12 months, more than 22 of their field technicians have also utilized the BGAN Hughes 9201 terminal for data transmission. Geophysicists in the office are able to use email to send detailed instructions to the field technicians directing them to the areas most likely to contain mineral deposits. Armed with the results of this data analysis, the mining companies have a pretty good idea of where to start exploratory drilling.

“BGAN has revolutionized the way we do business. Geophysicists can remain in the office providing essential data analysis enabling mining companies to act fast to exploit new deposits.”

“Gravitational surveying is a game of logistics, which is where BGAN proves vital. It means no more wasted time traveling out of our way to send data back to the office.”

The new BGAN facility has allowed larger raw gravity files to be sent to our Perth of Adelaide offices on a daily basis. Files of up to 3MB are now regularly sent to the office, allowing final processing of the data to be completed that evening.”

“BGAN has removed the need for reprocessing of the gravity data, resulting in a cost saving on average of $5,000.00 per project.”

Portable BGAN offered by Inmarsat, the world’s leading provider of portable satellite internet and voice solutions, is the only mobile satellite service to offer simultaneous broadband data and voice through a single, extremely portable device. BGAN Satellite is also the first service to offer “guaranteed” data rates on demand – up to 256kbps – for live video streaming and video conferencing.

RigStat LP, the Texas based company started in 2004, makes systems that are the “eyes and ears” for oil rigs and terminals, monitoring them even when they are unmanned during hurricanes. RigStat has conduced most of its business to date in the Gulf of Mexico, using Inmarsat portable BGAN Service to provide an always-on connection for some of its installations, sending data every hour over the Inmarsat network. As its reputation grows, it is finding customers in South America, Australia and other regions.

RigStat Pro’s patented system collects data from a variety of sensors on submersible, semi-submersible, jack-up rigs and oil terminals. Technicians on shore regularly receive data transmitted via the on-shore web portals from the systems, using the data to monitor the status of the assets. Although the system was designed to monitor the assets during inclement weather, it has practical application for year-round operation in normal conditions, such as checking the rig’s location in relation to nearby vessels and other platforms.

First deployed in the Gulf of Mexico in 2005 during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita – two of the most destructive weather events ever – the system proved its worth giving an almost real-time view of the location, wind speed and motion of a rig which had broken free of its moorings. After that, word began to spread within the oil business.

RigStat is a pioneer system in offering this level of detailed monitoring from unmanned platforms during extreme weather. Why is that important? It’s standard safety practice for oil companies to evacuate their rigs as a hurricane approaches, first switching off all systems and main power supplies and taking a GPS fix of the rig. However, sometimes this is not enough.

As one company learned the hard way, it costs a lot of money to retrieve, repair and re-moor a storm dragged oil rig. After Hurricane Andrew in 2004, one company flew over the last known location of its rig and found that it had gone. It took the company more than a day to locate the rig some 70 miles from its former location and then about a week to tow it back into position.

Any system that can significantly minimize these costs by communicating precise, virtually real-time status and location of a rig during and after a hurricane is highly valuable to energy companies. It might even prevent damage from happening in the first place. It will certainly help company personnel in deploying equipment and manpower after the storm in order to progress with remedial work as quickly and cost effectively as possible.

Inmarsat has been named Satellite Services Provider of the Year in the annual Digital Studio awards during Cabsat and Satellite MENA in Dubai.

The Digital Studio Awards bestowed the prize of Satellite Provider of the Year to Inmarsat earlier this year. Inmarsat’s products and services have contributed to the major growth of both the production and broadcast industry overseas.

“We are truly honored to receive this award and remain committed to offering our premium services to professionals and organizations in the broadcast industry,” said Helene Bazzi, Inmarsat’s senior area manager for the Middle East and Africa.

Media companies all over the world, like CNN for example, utilize BGAN services to transmit video, large file uploads and high resolution images in areas of the world that don’t have terrestrial connectivity. BGAN is the only mobile satellite services technology that offers guaranteed data rates on demand including simultaneous voice and high speed data capabilities.

The revolutionary new handheld satellite voice phone by Inmarsat, has won a maritime innovation award – just eight months after its launch.

Sail Magazine, an American print and online publication for the sailboat world and long recognized as the premier sailing publication has awarded Inmarsat’s global handheld satellite voice phone its annual Pittman Electronics Innovation Award. The IsatPhone Pro satellite phone was selected for its affordability, design, general appeal and overall utility for both sailing cruisers and racers.

Sail electronics editor Ralph Naranjo had this to say about the IsatPhone Pro. It is compact, easy to use and less expensive than other handheld satellite voice phones. As a transoceanic communicator, the unit represents one of the most cost-effective satellite communications alternatives on the market today. With its competitive pricing and dollar-per-minute usage fees, the IsatPhone Pro satellite phone is well worth a close look.”

Launched last summer, the IsatPhone Pro Satellite phone is the most robust handheld satellite phone on the market today. The phone offers:

• Longest battery life
• Reliable global coverage
• Clear voice quality
• Text messaging
• email
• Ease of use.

“We are honored to have received Sail’s Pittman Innovation Award for IsatPhone Pro,” said Frank August, Inmarsat’s business development director for the Americas. We always believed the IsatPhone Pro would have tremendous appeal for the sailing community and we are very pleased with the enthusiasm and response from the market so far.”

Sail Magazine’s annual awards are named after its late editor Freeman K. Pittman.

Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband 150 (FBB150) was the winner of the electronics innovation category in the 2010 Pittman awards.

Eighteen Mexicans had been enjoying a diving holiday on a deserted coral island in the Indonesian archipelago when their chartered boat, the Sea Safari III, hit a reef in the middle of the night and began taking on water. The divers decided to abandon ship, take to their lifeboats and head for the nearby island of Mainyaifun, one of nearly 10,000 islands in the region.

Prior to abandoning ship the divers had attempted to report their location (GPS coordinates) to their homeport of Sorong, only to discover that their VHF radio was out of range. No one could hear their distress call.

There was no reason for anyone to begin looking for them as they weren’t expected back for another 5 days. They faced an uncertain future with just emergency supplies salvaged from the Sea Safari III. The situation looked grim. They had no other means of communication, or so they thought at the time.

Fortunately, one of the divers had recently purchased the new iSatphone pro satellite phone manufactured by Inmarsat just days before leaving on the dive vacation. When the order to abandon ship came he insisted on returning to his cabin to get the satellite voice phone and some other valuables. He had bought the phone in order to stay in touch with work, not thinking for a minute that it would be instrumental for an emergency rescue.

The satellite voice phone enabled the divers to contact the mainland and report their position. They later enjoyed the good fortune of another diving party that just happened upon the same island as they were awaiting rescue.

Safely back home, the IsatPhone Pro owner had this to say: “All the divers on that boat learned a valuable lesson from this voyage – a satellite phone could very well be the tool that saves your life in one of these situations. When you’re in an unknown, uninhabited location with no way to contact the outside world, it can mean the difference between life and death.”

Always in search of the “perfect wave”, surfer and photographer, Joel Coleman, routinely travels to the most remote corners of the earth. Of course, finding that wave is only the first step. Ultimately , recording and transmitting it for viewing by his audiences, proved to be a whole other challenge. The Australian runs a website called Saltmotion. He also exhibits his dramatic surfer images in a gallery in Sydney.

Each afternoon Joel posts that day’s photographic images of ocean scenes and people surfing to Saltmotion.com website and to a growing list of more than 10,000 email subscribers. Each photo is accompanied by a brief description of all relevant information, which might include conditions, geographic location, time of day and anything else that might be of interest to his viewers.

“Like many other surfers I have been travelling the globe in search of perfect waves,” Joel explained. In late 2010, I was invited by a group of documentary film makers to join them in their search for ideal surfing conditions in India. Given the isolated regions they were aiming to visit, the only way I could make daily updates to the Saltmotion website and my email subscribers was to find a mobile data solution that would allow me to send from anywhere in the world.”

Inmarsat’s Portable BGAN Service proved the answer that Saltmotion was looking for. He was so impressed by the BGAN Explorer 500 that he used for that trip that he returned to hire the same terminal again earlier this year. Inmarsat took an interest in his project and approached him regarding some co-marketing and sponsorship opportunities for 2011.

“Although internet access is beginning to reach some of the places I go, it is more often than not completely unreliable,” Joel said. “In fact in many areas when we travel to remote beaches internet access is non-existent. The Portable BGAN solution works perfectly for me every time. Its speed, mobility and reliability are very well suited to my needs. I gather the day’s photographs, write some text, then create a zip file and up-load it to our server. Our gallery staff can then create the daily updates and the email.”

Now portable BGAN is helping Joel share his spectacular images with potential tourists. He is partnering with a travel company – The perfect Wave – to bring the thrills of remote surfing to people on holiday.

For the last two years, Spain’s Albacora Group has been testing the marine satellite services system, the Fleetbroadband, on one of it’s tuna boats. Due to the success of these tests, the company has now spread this satellite technology across their entire fleet of vessels as they have come to realize how vital a role dependable communications plays at sea.

The captain and crew can now stay in touch with their families through email, facebook and skype via the marine satellite services system. Having a dependable satellite link makes all the difference in the world…it’s like having a floating office on the water. Albacora had been using the Fleet 77 and upgraded to an Inmarsat Fleetbroadband 250 terminal with potential broadband satellite data speeds up to 284Kbps. By the end of the year, Albacora will have 2 marine satellite services terminals on board each of it’s tuna boats, supply ships and refrigerated vessels.

The three main types of data communications via the marine satellite services terminal are oceanographic data, emails and the information specific to fishing. Albacora’s electronics department manager Ruben Mugira explains that Albacora’s boats fish in tropical waters for tuna and that fleetbroadband has broadened their scope of communications coverage.

As far as the administrative side of things, Ruben added that producing daily fishing reports (for the EU) has been seamless due to the presence of satellite internet onboard. The more information a captain has access to, the better the decsions being made. For instance, the vessels are able to view sea temperature, currents and winds for the best indication of where the fish are.

Inmarsat, the world’s leading provider of marine satellite services, recently announced the development of multi-satellite voice capability via the Fleet Broadband (FBB) terminals to delegates at Nor-Shipping in Oslo, Norway – one of the maritime industries biggest conference and exhibition events. Mariners will soon be able to access up to nine lines from a single FBB terminal enabling them to make up to nine simultaneous Voice calls from that one terminal

Planned for commercial roll-out in the last quarter of 2011, ths multi-voice capability will also be available on ALL new marine satellite services terminals as well.

“The power of the BGAN network that underpins FleetBroadband is that it has the flexibility and the capability to allow us to introduce new offerings such as this,” said James Collett, Inmarsat’s senior director of maritime business. “Ship owners and managers will be able to access up to nine telephone lines from a single terminal, allowing them to assign telephone lines for specific requirements, and to more easily separate the business and operational communications needs from those of the crew. Each line will have its own +870 telephone number. We believe this service will be particularly beneficial for crew communications,” Collett concludes.

At a suggested retail price of US$0.55 per minute, the cost of calls using this new service will highly competitive in the marketplace. The SRP applies to existing and new activations, and for both pre-paid and post-paid calls.

“We have announced this new SRP because we believe there remains an opportunity to grow both operational and crew voice traffic,” Collett goes on to say. “ We are seeing more use of email and data communications on the marine satellite services terminals, but there is evidence that shows people will call more when the price point is appropriate.”