A revolutionary green shipping company has turned to VSAT technology to provide seamless connectivity for crew on a world-first sea water venture
Ocean Fresh Water (OFW) Ships will install the latest satellite communications systems on a ship that will turn sea water into bottled drinking water.
The eco-conscious French company will use a seawater selected filtration system and bottling plant on ship ODeep One to produce 2.5M litres of fresh water every week.
To achieve this, OFW will require VSAT connectivity and hardware from Marlink for operational ship-to-shore communications and crew welfare services.
Marlink will provide multi-band communications involving Ku-band VSAT with an L-band back-up with seamless global coverage under its Sealink service.
OFW Ships chief executive and shipowner Régis Revilliod said VSAT will help the company “serve our clients in the digital world we live and work within” and will improve working life on board the ship.
“Reliable, top-quality connectivity is vital for us if we are to carry out our operations as safely and effectively as possible,” Mr Revilliod said.
“A well-equipped, well-informed and happy crew is also an efficient crew.”
Marlink’s connectivity comes with a committed information rate with a bandwidth guarantee to ensure enough throughput is available for critical applications used for operations and safety.
Marlink will provide VSAT and L-band antennas and other hardware including its XChange communication management platform, which will enable OFW Ships to control the network and manage crew accounts cost-effectively.
On board ODeep One, mineral-rich saltwater is filtered to remove sodium chloride (salt) while preserving naturally occurring minerals.
Processed water is bottled, packaged and stored on board, then delivered to port during a five-day cycle.
OFW Ships recovers empty bottles as full ones are delivered. It then recycles collected bottles to produce pallets that are used during subsequent deliveries.
VSAT communications will enable shipowners to use optimise onboard operations. This will be discussed at Riviera Maritime Media’s Optimised Ship Forum in London on 10 December.
© 2023 Riviera Maritime Media Ltd.