Inmarsat (LSE:ISAT.L) has reached an agreement with Wallem Group, one of the largest and most experienced ship management companies in the industry, establishing the phase-in of Fleet Xpress as its favoured connectivity choice for ships at sea.
Already contracted for over 10,000 vessels since it was launched just over one year ago with a rapidly increasing share of the VSAT market, Fleet Xpress delivers high-speed broadband to the maritime market through a unique combination of Ka-band backed up by the mobility and reliability of FleetBroadband using Inmarsat’s L-band capabilities. The combination guarantees global bandwidth while enabling owners and operators to improve business intelligence, enhancing vessel performance and crew welfare.
“Major ship owning and management companies are progressively switching to Fleet Xpress, but the Wallem reference is a milestone for the service,” says Gerbrand Schalkwijk, Chief Sales Officer, Inmarsat Maritime. In addition to its extensive fleet holdings and ship management commitments that include bulkers, tankers and container vessels, Wallem oversees a pool of 8,000 qualified seafarers worldwide.
“With a strong reputation in the industry for providing quality maritime solutions, we are committed to evolving our services to meet the needs of ship owners both today and in the future,” says David Price, Managing Director of Wallem Ship Management. “In the first instance, we choose communications technology based on its reliability and speed, but we also see the transition to Fleet Xpress as offering a gateway to greater operational efficiency and crew welfare.”
“Wallem offers a breadth of technical, commercial, procurement, crewing and safety services that bring special insight into the efficiency, sustainability and crew welfare benefits available from Fleet Xpress,” he adds. “We also offer procurement services separately to owners with and without ships under our technical management, demonstrating how highly valued our judgement is by others in the industry.” The Wallem Group is one of the world’s largest and most experienced providers of maritime solutions, operating a network of 49 offices around the globe, with activities that include Ship Management, Ship Agency, Ship Broking and Commercial Vessel Management.
Fleet Xpress delivers a unique, fully integrated dual capability of high speed, high capacity services (Global Xpress) together with high reliability safety-level services (FleetBroadband) in a single commercial package which is available anywhere in the world. Fleet Xpress is further enriched by Inmarsat Gateway, a unique service enablement platform designed to provide ship owners, managers and operators with access to a new generation of value-added maritime applications, services and solutions.
Inmarsat’s maritime channel partners include all the leading maritime communications resellers, providing global reach, customer intimacy and value-added capabilities in support of Fleet Xpress, and a well-managed pathway for Inmarsat’s current FleetBroadband customers to migrate over time up to Fleet Xpress.
Inmarsat plc is the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services. Since 1979, Inmarsat has been providing reliable voice and high-speed data communications to governments, enterprises and other organizations, with a range of services that can be used on land, at sea or in the air. Inmarsat operates around the world, with a presence in the major ports and centres of commerce on every continent. Inmarsat is listed on the London Stock Exchange (ISAT.L).
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Jonathan Sinnatt
Director of Corporate Communications
+44 (0)20 7728 1935
[email protected]
