Inmarsat announced opening of a new office at the Norwegian Maritime Competence Center (NMCC) based in Ålesund, Norway, focused on driving digitalisation in the shipping industry.
The company’s intention with the opening of the facility is to intensify work with third party innovators and digital disrupters, to exploit high-speed broadband via Fleet Xpress through its Certified Applications Provider (CAP) programme.
Inmarsat CEO, Rupert Pearce said: “Inmarsat Maritime is driving digital best practice across tens of thousands of ships. The future of the connected ship lies in networks such as Fleet Xpress, brought to market at scale. Fleet Xpress enables application-triggered bandwidth, which will be key to converting today’s smart and connected ship into tomorrow’s ‘smart fleet’.”
As explained, the maritime hub at NMCC, which is part of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology campus, is recognised for its technical excellence, and is home to the influential Blue Maritime Cluster, whose members are leading the drive in remote monitoring equipment on board vessels and the use of data analytics for real-time decision making.
Inmarsat recently signed a Letter of Intent to enable the Rolls-Royce Energy Management System (EMS) via Fleet Xpress. Rolls-Royce is also based at the Ålesund NMCC, where it oversees its remote monitoring, data analysis, and ship performance strategy.
“We welcome all partners, whether their motivation is to develop greater operational efficiency, improve crew welfare, IT and security, or regulatory compliance. In addition to creating new revenue streams for partners, application-triggered bandwidth allows users to choose to dedicate connectivity to specific efficiency measures or for the application to trigger bandwidth ‘dynamically’ and transparently,” said Ronald Spithout, President of Inmarsat Maritime.
