Owners of offshore support vessels (OSVs) and drilling rigs will be able to use fast, high-capacity satellite communications from 2022
This will allow users to adopt digitalisation and connectivity applications to optimise operations, implement cloud-based services and improve communications for crews and third parties.
This was the conclusion from presentations during the digitalisation and automation session at Riviera Maritime Media’s 2021 Annual Offshore Support Journal Conference, Exhibition & Awards.
Delegates heard about the latest satellite communications networks that will enable rigs, platforms and vessels to receive terrestrial-grade connectivity.
OneWeb head of maritime and energy Carole Plessy introduced its low Earth orbit constellation to the offshore sector. To boost offshore connectivity, OneWeb has already launched 358 satellites, with commercial testing planned in 2022. Within a year, there will be more than 650 satellites, including in-orbit spares, in the constellation.
Ms Plessy said this constellation will provide far lower latency than medium Earth (MEO) and geostationary orbit satellites. OneWeb will offer latency of just 70 milliseconds (ms) compared with 180 ms of MEO satellites and over 600 ms for communications over geosynchronous orbiting units.
“For cloud services, latency is key,” said Ms Plessy. “Off-the-shelf, terrestrial solutions need low latency [<130 ms] and these have become the bedrock of digitalisation.”
Low latency and high bandwidth will enable far more applications to offshore vessel and rig operators to optimise operations, use data for crew safety, and for remotely monitoring assets using internet of things (IoT).
Operators can use connectivity with “IoT and sensors to monitor offshore operations in real time,” said Ms Plessy. They could “remotely monitor and control subsea systems and offshore vessels” and crew can use video-conferencing applications to contact home and friends.
Pilot trials of OneWeb connectivity using an Intellian-manufactured dual terminal is scheduled to begin in January 2022, with Ms Plessy confident the technology will be ready before the end of this year. A global service for offshore and maritime could be ready from January 2023.
OneWeb has more than US$2.7Bn of funding and priority to use 6 GHz frequency for Ka-band connectivity to offshore and maritime users.
Inmarsat is expanding its Global Xpress (GX) constellation with new satellites coming in 2022 to more than double capacity. It has just shipped the first of its sixth-generation satellites (GX6A) to Japan ready for its launch and commissioning in Q1 2022. This will be followed by GX6B in 2022 which will join five others in the existing constellation delivering Ka-band satellite communications to maritime and offshore clients.
Inmarsat vice president for offshore energy and fishing Eric Griffin outlined how its satellite communications is supported by a growing network of applications providers.
“We have built a digital ecosystem with more than 50 certified application providers (CAPs) in the system,” said Mr Griffin.
He presented user cases involving some of these CAPs and Inmarsat’s Fleet Data, Connect and Edge services for data transfer, IoT applications and onboard analysis.
In one of these cases, Yxney Maritime helped an offshore support vessel (OSV) owner to reduce emissions from their fleet. Vessels reported emissions data via this platform. “Data from vessels led to insight on fuel consumption and emissions, resulting in 3-7% reductions and this can be 20% in some cases,” said Mr Griffin.
Another user case involved CAP Brightree, enabling remote monitoring of engines on OSVs. Owners can use this data “to identify low performance or inefficiencies to enable better maintenance to reduce costs,” said Mr Griffin.
Lloyd’s Register has used Fleet Connect for remote surveys, enabling OSV owners to demonstrate compliance and reduce costs. “Owners can save 35% [on survey expenditure] and increase feedback for decision making,” said Mr Griffin.
During the conference, Inmarsat announced it had secured an extension to its service agreement with Maersk Supply Service to include fleetwide IoT-based connectivity on separate, dedicated bandwidths using Fleet Data and Fleet Connect.
© 2023 Riviera Maritime Media Ltd.