Offshore support vessels, jack-up barges, cable layers, heavy-lift ships and multipurpose vessels in the Jan De Nul Group fleet will be retrofitted with new terminals for faster satellite communications
Jan De Nul has expanded its contract with Castor Marine to include full-fleet hybrid communications using terminals connecting to geostationary (GEO) and low earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations.
More than 80 vessels in the fleet already have very small aperture terminal (VSAT) technology using Ku-band communications and terminals linked to Iridium Certus LEO L-band services.
Through the latest contract renewal, Castor Marine will also install flat-panel antennas for SpaceX Starlink LEO connectivity on its vessels.
Castor Marine and Jan De Nul expect a leap forward in onboard internet speeds and reduced latency for crew welfare and business communications with the addition of Starlink, which will operate alongside VSAT, Iridium Certus and existing voice over IP services.
Jan De Nul group manager for vessel communications Nils Crabeel said connectivity will be flexible with fast response times and support services.
“Jan De Nul regularly needs temporary project upgrades and downgrades on its vessels,” he said.
This calls for flexible communications capacity, and terminals and other hardware may need to be installed.
Castor Marine has delivered tailored connectivity solutions to Jan De Nul, including virtual local-area networks, a global VSAT network and the ability to scale up and down dedicated high bandwidth at short notice.
Castor Marine director for maritime, offshore and energy, Mark Olthuis, said VSAT networks need to be flexible. “The high-bandwidth airtime solutions match the expectations of Jan De Nul and its fleet,” he said. “We will provide the best possible mix of LEO and GEO connectivity services to Jan de Nul by anticipating the new technologies becoming available.”
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