Container ship managers and owners are investing in faster broadband communications to support critical operations and digitalisation
Container ship managers and owners are investing in faster broadband communications to support critical operations and digitalisation
Shipowners are replacing legacy L-band communications systems with very small aperture terminal (VSAT) technology that delivers online connectivity to support the growing digitalisation of maritime logistics chains.
VSAT facilitates better monitoring and managing of vessel operations and containers, while providing bandwidth for crew welfare. “We see the VSAT solution as critical to our business operations,” says Seaspan manager of process improvement Rajesh Gopinathan. In Q1 2019, Seaspan finished installing Ku-band VSAT on 107 container ships to optimise fleetwide operations. Mr Gopinathan explains that Ku-band VSAT is “helping our business succeed” by enabling digitalisation of its operations, management and procurement.
This includes 24/7 support from the service provider. “KVH assists us in continuously improving the features and functions as our business requirements change,” says Mr Gopinathan.
Seaspan also invested in VSAT to improve welfare and media delivery to its 4,500 employees. Seaspan executive vice president of ship management Torsten Holst Pedersen says close communications between seafarers on these vessel and shore offices is a key aspect of successful ship operation. “We can keep seafarers abreast of current initiatives and updates in the company,” he says.
KVH installed TracPhone V7-HTS and TracPhone V11-IP antennas, and integrated communications devices to open KVH’s AgilePlans and mini-VSAT Broadband connectivity for the managed vessels.
Seaspan subscribes to KVH’s IP-MobileCast content delivery service that multicasts news, sports, entertainment and operations content to the vessels.
It uses IP-MobileCast to send custom video messages to the managed fleet once a month to instruct and encourage seafarers.
“We recognise that video is a particularly effective format for this communication,” says Mr Pedersen. “We plan to use it increasingly as a communication channel, both to deliver dynamic content and to conduct calls.” Seaspan’s monthly operational update videos highlight accomplishments, convey safety information and discuss critical operational topics.
Another container ship operator, Nordic Hamburg, deployed KVH’s VSAT hardware and connectivity for faster operational communications and crew welfare. Nordic Hamburg operations and insurance manager Jacobus Varossieau says VSAT AgilePlans provides flexibility in communications for its fleet.
Nordic Hamburg uses network management solutions, fast data speed and crew welfare services on the vessels. “This solution enables us to offer our customers exceptional value and connectivity,” says Mr Varossieau. “This applies to both our operational efficiency as well as offering our valued crew fast, effective, and reliable communications.”
“We now have a service that helps us future-proof our shipboard communications in line with today’s digital demands”
VSAT enables Nordic Hamburg to adopt more digitalisation applications across its fleet. “We now have a service that helps us future-proof our shipboard communications in line with today’s digital demands,” says Mr Varossieau.
KVH co-founder and chief executive Martin Kits van Heyningen thinks more shipowners will upgrade onboard communications to VSAT. “There is no such thing as enough bandwidth,” he tells Container Shipping & Trade.
“Owners want more bandwidth, more content, better coverage and VSAT for their business models. They want it all-inclusive with installation, content and network controls.”
Mr Kits van Heyningen thinks crew welfare remains a major reason for VSAT installations, but operational and monitoring requirements have greater importance in decision making. “A big driver is IoT applications and business models that depend on getting the data off vessels and integrating ship IT,” he says.
But, he warns shipowners to ensure that connectivity is controlled, especially if there is onboard wifi that enables seafarers to use their own devices.
“Owners do not want phones to soak up the available bandwidth on a vessel,” Mr Kits van Heyningen continues. “Smartphones and tablets will automatically synchronise with cloud services, but that is unwanted traffic for owners.”
To prevent this, owners need to allocate bandwidth, block traffic and manage access.
Outsourcing IT
Owners can go further by combining controls with remote IT management to enhance the reliability of onboard computers and communications equipment. Norwegian ship operator Torvald Klaveness selected Marlink in Q1 2019 to provide VSAT services and Palantir’s remote IT management platform for ships it operates.
Sealink VSAT is being deployed across a fleet of 23 combination carriers and container ships. Marlink is supplying its XChange centralised communications management devices and Palantir KeepUp@Sea remote IT services on these ships.
Torvald Klaveness head of IT and development Lars Erik Luthman says standardising IT management and optimising vessel performance are key pillars of the ship operator’s digital strategy.
“With VSAT connectivity as a backbone, the scalable KeepUp@Sea solution will allow us to consolidate our IT operations on a single platform, reducing complexity, simplifying troubleshooting and ensuring that our software, licences and antivirus are always up to date,” he says.
“We are looking to optimise IT management on board and ashore, improving stability and availability across our fleet”
“Through this we are looking to optimise IT management on board and ashore, improving stability and availability across our fleet of 23 owned and managed ships, and ultimately reduce overall operational expenditure.”
Marlink president of maritime Tore Morten Olsen says owners are increasingly outsourcing IT management and servicing. “There is a lot of traction in the market to overcome the challenges of managing the onboard IT,” he tells CST. “Owners want the connectivity and fully managed ICT solutions.”
These services will be in greater demand as more performance and condition monitoring sensors are installed on ships and environmental monitoring devices on containers.
“As soon as ships have sensor data, operators cannot afford to have breakdowns in communications,” says Mr Olsen.
Fleet data
Shipowners can also invest in Ka-band VSAT with Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress global service which is provided with FleetBroadband L-band for back up. This can be connected to a dedicated IoT service such as Inmarsat’s Fleet Data service, launched in Q1 2019 to support vessel monitoring.
Fleet Data was developed in partnership with Danelec Marine for merchant shipping and has a vessel remote server that preprocesses ship sensor data. It uploads it to a secure, cloud-based platform that has user dashboards and an application program interface (API).
Inmarsat Maritime president Ronald Spithout describes Fleet Data as “the first and only service to enable maritime IoT through a combination of existing shipboard data infrastructure and dedicated high-speed bandwidth”.
Vessel managers can access and analyse data through the API to enhance vessel safety and efficiency, or the fleet’s environmental footprint, says Mr Spithout. “They can also make this data available to third-party applications that monitor fuel efficiency or hull performance.”
Currently available on Fleet Xpress, Fleet Data will be rolled out across Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband service by the end of 2019.
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