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Our connectivity solutions are driving operational efficiencies on over 13,000 vessels, providing ship owners and operators with benefits such as reduced running costs, improved profit margins, better attraction and retention of talented crew and the capacity to future-proof operations.

Within shipping, digital technologies are now an established and necessary part of business, and their presence will only grow in the future, providing competitive advantages for early adopters.

Reflecting this industry progress in digitalisation, data consumption is growing exponentially, with figures for shipboard business applications and crew usage more than doubling over recent years.

Remote offices at sea

Shipping companies are increasingly implementing high-performance data exchange mechanisms that enable their fleets to operate as remote office locations, integrated into their business networks.

As these IT networks become more complex, with built-in tools and services to facilitate not only trade but also operations, robust connectivity becomes more critical to enabling growth. Profitability increasingly relies on connected solutions that enable voyage and port-call optimisation as well as condition monitoring and condition-based maintenance, which drive efficiencies and reduce costs.

The same cloud computing that has revolutionised collaboration and enabled the refinement of processes on land is taking place on board vessels as operators overcome the historic concern that maritime connectivity is bandwidth constrained.

It is now essential for shipping companies to adopt scalable digital solutions and resilient connectivity strategies that will propel them into the future of maritime. now more connected than ever.

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What can a robust connectivity strategy enable?

Ship operators are becoming more reliant on digital technologies to improve profit margins and attract and retain crew. A clear connectivity strategy across business IT, crew and operational technology networks can enable fleet performance benchmarking, operations optimisation and reduced running costs. This can in turn create competitive advantages and help to future-proof operations.

The Network Effect - STRATEGISING CONNECTIVITY AT SEA

The industry's leading shipping companies share their valuable insights on how to build a maritime connectivity strategy with a big impact.

“We generate a lot more data today than we did a few years ago, and we do a lot more with that data. Satellite communications were previously a peripheral element of our fleet operations but are now becoming a central component – in terms of both crew welfare and data collection and transfer.”

Florian Liebetrau, Director IT, Marine and Maritime Operations - Hapag-Lloyd 

An effective connectivity strategy includes:

  • Voyage optimisation platforms that calculate and propose routes with different objectives, gathering data directly from vessels and combining it with external data sets to provide recommendations.
  • Port-call optimisation based on the timely sharing of information between trade and supply-chain partners to streamline vessel logistics and cargo operations, ensure accurate cargo completion times and reduce waiting time.
  • Transparent collaboration platforms that allow data sharing to optimise cargo operations by connecting key stakeholders in the supply chain. Trade-process automation makes it possible to exchange documents, transfer e-bills and receive external verification and acceptance digitally.
  • Condition-based monitoring and maintenance using sensor technology and data analytics to predict failures before they happen, allowing shipping companies to take safer and more cost-effective approaches to planned maintenance.
  • Remote equipment intervention allowing crew to receive remote support when troubleshooting and performing repairs at sea. Video streaming enables two-way communication with shore-side technicians and can prevent diversions and delays.
  • Remote surveys conducted by surveyors on shore and aided by crew members on board using tablets and other portable devices. Most leading classification societies now facilitate remote surveys in full or in part, and in response, to the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) released  guidance.

Digitalisation case studies

Toei Reffer Line switches to higher quality service, exchanging their existing Ku-band solution to Fleet Xpress from Inmarsat, in a contract also including Fleet Care support. 

Golden Energy Offshore meets the needs of vessel charterers and crew, bringing together three distinct services to produce a solution that is greater than the sums of its parts.

Zamil Offshore rolled-out Fleet Connect and Fleet Data as an integrated IoT solution to support CCTV and performance management for more than 60 vessels.

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