Inmarsat and Ericsson deal for the 'connected ship'

Inmarsat and Ericsson have signed a strategic maritime agreement that will see the sharing of cargo, logistics and vessel operational data to streamline the maritime supply chain.

As a first step, Ericsson has signed a distribution contract to offer XpressLink, Inmarsat’s combined L-band and Ku-band VSAT network for the maritime market. XpressLink provides an easy upgrade path to Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress service, powered by the new Global Xpress constellation, when it becomes available in the coming months.

The partnership will also pave the way for integration between Ericsson’s Maritime ICT Cloud and global connectivity delivered over Inmarsat’s satellite communications network, including both Ka- and L-band.

At present ships rely on manually updated traffic, cargo, port, weather and safety information that is sent point-to-point rather than made available to all parties simultaneously via a network. This is a time-consuming process and the lack of access to real-time data significantly increases the margin for error.

Ericsson’s Maritime ICT Cloud, an end-to-end managed cloud solution, addresses this issue and connects vessels at sea to shore-based operations including maintenance service providers, customer support centres, fleet/transportation partners, port operations and authorities.

Enabled by Inmarsat, the Maritime ICT Cloud will ensure that trucks spend less idle time at ports, cargo will spend less time in transit and producers will be better able to plan their shipments.

An example of how the strategic cooperation agreement works in practice was highlighted with the recent announcement of a contract between Ericsson and shipping company U-Ming Marine.

Ericsson will provide U-Ming Marine with end-to-end connected vessel and voyage optimisation solutions, including satellite connectivity from Inmarsat.

“With Fleet Xpress, the world’s first mobile hybrid Ka-/L-band high-speed broadband service, embedded in and enabling world-class solutions from Ericsson, we are redefining maritime connectivity. This transformational agreement will open up opportunities for vessel operators and managers to capture intelligent data immediately,” said Ronald Spithout, president Inmarsat Maritime.

“Everyone is talking about ‘big data’, but eventually it is the deployment of applications onboard and the end-to-end management of integrated intelligence that will ultimately change the way the maritime industry operates — making it more efficient, greener and unlocking greater value.

“We are happy that the reliability of the Inmarsat constellation of satellites and operational standards are recognised as the best fit in the Ericsson roadmap of integrated services.”

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Ben Jeayes

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