SAFETY4SEA is pleased to announce that Inmarsat has received the 2017 SMART4SEA Excellence Award at a prestigious awards ceremony during the 2017 SMART4SEA Conference & Awards which successfully concluded on Tuesday 31st of January 2017 in Eugenides Foundation Athens attracting 460 delegates from 15 countries representing a total of 240 organizations.
Inmarsat received the SMART4SEA Excellence award, sponsored by SRH Marine Electronics, for its high-speed satellite broadband service, Fleet Xpress, which changes crew lives onboard through greater connectivity with family & friends, video on-demand, social media, online training, telemedicine and measures to shift the administrative burden back to shore. The Fleet Xpress service has already been rigorously tested in some unforgiving of environments; trials on the ice-class cruise ship Ocean Nova in Antarctica delivered exceptional performance despite the low-horizon satellite views through heavy cloud cover. Other short-listed nominees for this category were: BMT SMART, Furuno, Maersk Maritime Technology and Rolls-Royce.
Presenting the award Mrs. Athina Vezyri, Chairman of SRH Marine Electronics, on behalf of the sponsor stated:
“Inmarsat is the leader and pioneer of mobile satellite communications and has been powering global connectivity for more than three decades. Being a close partner of Inmarsat the last few years, I honestly have a full picture and experience of its dynamics, capabilities and vision. I am excited for cooperating with Inmarsat for what is able to offer nowadays in the maritime sector but I am most excited to see what its plans are for tomorrow.”
Accepting the award on behalf of Inmarsat, Mr. Drew Brandy, Senior Vice President Market Strategy stated
“Securing the 2017 SMART4SEA Excellence Award 2017 rewards the hard work that went into the years of ground-breaking innovative development leading up to the commercial launch of the Inmarsat Fleet Xpress in 2016, and a commitment from over 7,500 vessels to use the service. Fleet Xpress brings high-speed data, seamless global mobility and continuous connectivity to shipping that deliver greater operational efficiencies. SAFETY4SEA voters include some of shipping’s largest ship owners and managers. It is an honor to emerge victorious from such a strong field and a very high quality shortlist, including acknowledged technical innovators in shipping.”
Congratulating the winner of SMART4SEA Excellence Award, Mr. Apostolos Belokas, Founder and Managing Editor of SAFETY4SEA, commented:
“Inmarsat has been shortlisted for its high-speed satellite broadband service, Fleet Xpress that changes life onboard significantly as it provides broad connectivity with seafarer’s family & friends, entertain people onboard and keep them up-to-date. In the first few months after the launch of Fleet Xpress, owners were quick to sign firm commitments to use the service. Our understanding is that 7,500 vessels are already committed to Fleet Xpress, while strategic partnerships with Speedcast, Marlink and Navarino covering migration from other Inmarsat services indicate that SMART4SEA voters are in good company.”
Fleet Xpress is considered as a true catalyst for smarter shipping. Powered by Inmarsat’s latest Ka-band satellite constellation, Global Xpress, complemented by the proven reliability of L-Band from Inmarsat, Fleet Xpress is augmented on land by Inmarsat Gateway. Inmarsat Gateway is expected to provide a maritime-flavoured business app-store to enhance vessel safety and efficiency, decision-making and sustainable operations, crew welfare and training, and cyber-security. It allows the costs of transmitting data – often a barrier to innovation at sea – to be split between the ship operator and application provider. Fleet Xpress aligns closely with the desires of regulators to develop smart regulation, where data will be necessary to demonstrate compliance.
Inmarsat attracted the most votes by the end of the voting period which held online during a two-month period. The inaugural presentation of the SMART4SEA Awards took place at the closing of the 2017 SMART4SEA Conference & Awards within the scope of awarding industry’s outstanding practices for Excellence, Innovation and Technology. Other winners of the 2017 SMART4SEA Awards were: Monalisa 2- STM Validation for the 2017 SMART4SEA Innovation Award and Transas which received the 2017 SMART4SEA Technology Award. More details on the procedure may be found at http://www.safety4sea.com/2017-smart4sea-awards/
