Smit Lamnalco Selects KVH for Connectivity

The major European maritime operator has concluded a successful field trial and is currently installing KVH systems and services on its offshore vessels

KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI), announced that major European maritime operator Smit Lamnalco finalized an agreement earlier this year to install KVH’s maritime solution on its offshore vessels. Following a successful field trial with KVH’s mini-VSAT Broadband? connectivity and TracPhone® V3-IP satellite communications antenna system, the potential is for KVH to deliver and install its maritime solution on up to 100 Smit Lamnalco offshore vessels over the next few years, and 20 have already been delivered.

“We are extremely happy with the performance of KVH’s systems and services based on our test, and are proceeding to upgrade our vessels with this complete solution,” says Patrick van Woudenberg, group IT manager for Smit Lamnalco. “KVH is a great partner for us, and their knowledgeable technical staff helped design a solution that we can replicate across our fleet to standardize the connectivity on our vessels and improve our operational efficiency.”

The solution chosen by Smit Lamnalco includes KVH’s mini-VSAT Broadband service with a usage-based monthly airtime package; TracPhone V3-IP Ku-band antenna system and Integrated CommBox™ Modem (ICM) belowdecks unit; and, CommBox network management and VPN solutions, as well as VoIP service. All the hardware is protected by the KVH OneCare™ support program and warranty. The solution also comes with the myKVH™ portal, which provides vessel location, connectivity details, vessel tracking, and control of onboard data usage.

“We are proud to be Smit Lamnalco’s choice for their impressive fleet, and the successful field test validates the high quality of our products and services,” says Mark Guthrie, KVH vice president of global channel management. “Our solution provides many benefits of broadband connectivity, for everything from communications to crew welfare, and Smit Lamnalco sees the advantages of this approach.”