Tag: connectivity onboard

Marlink announced that it has completed the acquisition of the satellite communications business of Hellenic Radio Services (HRS). The acquisition enhances local service and customer support, while increasing choice for ship owners to adopt Marlink’s smart network solutions to digitalise their vessel operations.

Marlink published a report on the current status and future outlook for satellite capacity and connectivity based on vessel activity in the polar regions. The report finds that demand for high-quality data connectivity in the polar regions is set to increase.

Chee Hong Tat, Singapore's Senior Minister of State for Transport and Finance, announced that MPA Singapore and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) signed an MOU in mid-August 2022 to develop 5G mobile network capabilities in the maritime domain to enhance digital connectivity in the Port of Singapore.

Data usage on commercial maritime vessels has jumped more than threefold since 2019, according to new communications analysis by Inmarsat, that underlines the shipping industry’s reliance on digital connectivity to enhance operating efficiency and crew welfare.

P&O Maritime Logistics will help ease pressure from customer supply chains by ensuring there is a faster cargo turnaround, enabled by its Multi Carrying Vessels (MCVs) that now can carry containerised cargo. In partnership with Unifeeder, P&O Maritime Logistics will increase connectivity across the Red Sea between Port of Jeddah and Port Sudan.

While it is only one aspect of the highly complex seafarer welfare puzzle, connectivity is taking an increasingly central role at the heart of discussions about seafarers welfare.

Using internet today is like breathing air. While you cannot see it around, it is of outmost importance for the proper function of everyday activities. Of course the seafaring profession does not remain unaffected, as the increasing digitalization onboard, provide many benefits, as well as drawbacks.

Connectivity onboard and accessing the Internet is a fundamental right that nobody should be deprived of. With seafarers spending most of their lives crossing the oceans, being away from their families and their loved ones, can have a negative impact on their overall wellbeing. However, with these issues in mind it is important to identify and analyze the potential dangers that the use of internet can have, especially on ships.

Improving crew welfare onboard is not only a necessity for the shipping industry to show it cares for its seafarers, but also a contributing factor to ship safety, experts agreed during a webinar organized on the occasion of the Day of the Seafarer, last month.

The adoption of 5G technologies is specifically seen as an optimization solution for the transport and logistics sector. How is 5G expected to support digitalization of the shipping industry?