Press release -
Marlink: Asian Maritime Community is ready for more VSAT enabled Digitalisation
Market survey shows Asian shipping companies ready to move to “always on” maritime broadband for both operational and crew welfare purposes
Oslo/Paris, 25 May 2017: A Marlink commissioned survey of Asian ship owners has confirmed that many shipping companies are ready to embrace the increased capacity and greater data usage enabled by maritime VSAT. Marlink initiated the survey to further deepen its understanding of the Asian markets, align its service development roadmap and ensure the specific needs of Asian customers are met with flexible, cost-effective and innovative new communication services.
A key finding of the survey showed that a clear majority of owners believe that greater use of satcom can deliver a competitive edge to their business operations and bottom line results. It is expected that Broadband communications, such as VSAT will continue to stir the interest of ship owners and decision makers because of its ability to support complex applications related to ship operational efficiency and commercial operations as well as crew communications.
The double-blind survey, where neither Marlink nor the respondent were identified to each other, showed how critical email communication is for all ship owners in the region. However, the survey showed that the use of electronic chart updates and remote equipment monitoring has started driving requirements for more bandwidth on board of Asian owned fleets. Operational efficiency and commercial benefits that set them apart from competition are areas of developing interest among the respondents.
“The survey points to a growing acceptance of digitalisation and smart shipping in the Asian shipping community, which has traditionally been viewed as technologically conservative by some sections of the maritime industry,” said Tore Morten Olsen, President Maritime, Marlink. “We already see the evidence of this within our expanding Asian customer-base and are actively developing solutions to support customer demand in the region and of course, globally.”
The new Sealink Business service, launched at Sea Asia 2017 in Singapore is providing a new route for ship owners looking for always on pay-monthly VSAT services. It offers a choice of seven Committed Information Rates (CIR) to guarantee desired bandwidth at all times, enabling users to build more digital applications into daily operations with confidence that they will always be available.
The survey also assessed respondents’ attitudes to crew connectivity. Significant differences were noted across the region. In Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan for instance, many ship operators considered provision of connectivity to be important for crew retention. There was significant diversity in approaches to crew welfare, ranging from careful introduction of restricted data access on board to fully managed Internet access over on board Wi-Fi and daily updated content access through the crews’ own devices on content delivery platforms, such as Marlink’s XChange Media.
Flexibility is key to Marlink’s support for Asian and global customers, ensuring high availability of crew communication facilities on board, with easy, remote account management and billing, minimising administration for the Captain and ship owner.
“Perhaps in contrast to the common perception, the attitude to provision of crew services via satellite is generally positive within the Asian shipping community, with the Maritime Labour Convention and the need to retain crew as the main drivers,” said Olsen. “While not all Asian owners have the same outlook, it’s positive to see that crew welfare is high on the agenda for many of those surveyed and important to note that providing personal communication facilities on Sealink VSAT services can be low-cost or even cost-neutral depending on the approach.”
Ultimately, the survey revealed that a strong majority of the Asian shipping community (70%) believe that satcom can deliver a competitive edge. Given the benefits of VSAT for improving the performance of key business applications as well as crew connectivity, it is likely that VSAT deployment in Asia will continue to expand significantly in the future.
Ends
For further information, please contact:
Knut Natvig, Marlink
T: +47 48 030 911
E: knut.natvig@marlink.com
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About the Marlink / Telemar Group
Through its ownership of both Marlink and Telemar, Apax Partners has created a Group dedicated to providing the maritime industry with an integrated offering of broadband communications, digital solutions, bridge electronics and on-board maintenance. The Group is led by Erik Ceuppens as CEO.
Combining the power of these two long-term, expert organisations, Telemar and Marlink are the world’s leading maritime communication, digital solutions and servicing specialist covering all customer segments at sea including: Shipping, Offshore, Cruise & Ferry, Yachting and Fishing. The newly combined group will generate US $450 Million in revenues with more than 800 employees worldwide serving at least 1 in 3 vessels operating globally. The group will also continue to deliver the benefits of a digital and connected world to enterprise customers such as energy and mining companies, humanitarian organisations, global media and events companies.
The new Group will provide customers with unrivalled service and support through an enhanced global footprint and worldwide sales and service locations. A global 24/7 helpdesk, specialised competence centres, local presence on all continents and a network of 1000 service points staffed by highly qualified, certified service engineers, will support global customers to operate smarter and safer.
More than 70 years’ experience combined with strong satellite network operator and bridge electronics manufacturer partnerships enables the group to bring the power of broadband communication, maritime bridge technology and service excellence to customers globally, further optimising their business operations and enabling the digital vessels of tomorrow.
