Multi-orbit Solutions Become Mission Critical for Merchant Fleets

 

With 90% of the world’s goods transported by sea, global demand for merchant shipping is expected to remain robust, even as the dynamics of international trade undergo some of the most dramatic changes in decades. Despite a range of challenges, including port congestion, labor shortages, supply chain slowdowns, and regulatory stressors, the market for global cargo shipping is expected to grow at a 4.2% rate, reaching $24 billion by 2030.

The growth of the global shipping market is also driving unprecedented demand for bandwidth at sea. To compete in today’s data-driven, digitally transforming shipping industry, merchant fleet owners require access to constant and robust high-speed connectivity to optimize navigational operations, comply with safety and environmental regulations, capture and transmit ship performance data, and enhance the health and well-being of crews.

For over half a century, satellite networks have powered merchant ship communications, providing varying levels of basic voice and data connectivity. Today, remaining competitive and staying financially and operationally viable requires fleet operators to embrace the next generation of advanced satellite connectivity - multi-orbit satellite solutions.

By enabling seamless communication across different satellite orbits, multi-orbit satellite solutions are transforming the commercial maritime industry, delivering new operational efficiencies and improved safety. Multi-orbit connectivity solutions leverage the inherent strengths of geostationary (GEO) and low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite networks to offer enhanced coverage, reduced latency, and improved reliability. 

GEO satellites, which sit high above the Earth in stationary orbit, offer higher throughputs, greater reliability, and breadth of coverage. LEO satellites, which orbit much closer to the ground, offer high speeds and the lower latencies required for applications like telemedicine or autonomous vessel operation, where there can be no delays in transmissions.

Instead of having to determine which satellite network solution best meets their needs, merchant shipping operators have the option to deploy a unified satellite-powered solution that leverages the best of both networks to improve voyage planning, fuel optimization, and cargo management.

Accessing connectivity from the best satellite network available also helps merchant fleet owners manage and overcome some of the many pervasive challenges facing them today.

Propping Up Aging Fleets

The worldwide fleet of merchant ships is aging, creating concerns related to wear and tear and overall seaworthiness. According to Xclusiv Shipbrokers, nearly half of the world’s tankers, containerships, and bulk carriers will be over 21 years old by 2030. Older ships are more susceptible to mechanical failures and breakdowns that can impact safety and productivity. Every minute a merchant ship is out of service for maintenance and repair, revenue is lost. Multi-orbit connectivity allows fleet operators to capture and transmit ship performance data that maintenance teams can utilize to detect and pre-emptively address emerging mechanical concerns before they evolve into more significant and costly headaches. From real-time data sharing to live video streaming and remote troubleshooting, multi-orbit solutions deliver the connectivity that makes predictive fleet management possible. 

Bolstering Recruitment of Younger Workers

The merchant shipping industry continues to grapple with manpower shortages. As the number of cargo ships at sea has increased, shipping companies have struggled to find enough seafarers to keep up with the pace of growth. Given that younger workers will simply not tolerate being cut off from their connected devices and the digital lives to which they are accustomed, recruiting the next generation of workers depends on providing constant connectivity for social media engagement, streaming of entertainment and live sports, and basic communications with friends and family back home. Multi-orbit solutions allow shipping companies to meet these demands and attract new and younger workers by delivering plentiful bandwidth and speed for personal use.

Courtesy Intelsat

Protecting Assets in a Dangerous Environment

Navigating cargo ships in today’s geopolitical environment is not for the faint of heart, particularly when the route calls for using navigational channels where pirates or militant groups pose continued threats. Additionally, cybercriminals are constantly looking to steal sensitive information and cause all sorts of havoc that disrupt shipping and port operations, all of which can lead to revenue loss. Multi-orbit satellite solutions dramatically enhance safety and security by increasing reliability and establishing redundancy of ship-to-shore communications. Fleet owners can seamlessly connect maritime and terrestrial networks to monitor safety threats in real time and respond with greater speed and urgency to any unforeseen challenges that arise at sea.

The Rise of Autonomous Commercial Ships

To date, autonomously operated vessels have been primarily used by the military for activities such as reconnaissance and minesweeping. With the potential to reduce labor costs and increase efficiencies, they are quickly becoming more prevalent in the commercial shipping industry. Unmanned vessels allow fleet owners to optimize routes, reduce travel times, minimize fuel consumption, and negate the impacts of human error. Autonomous vessel operation relies on a complex network of advanced and integrated technologies including sensors, cameras, as well as cloud-based and artificial intelligence tools. The presence of high-performing and high-speed connectivity, along with low latency and redundancy, is critical for connecting these technology systems, powering real-time data exchange, and enabling remote monitoring and control. Simply stated, satellite-powered multi-orbit solutions make the autonomous operation of commercial ships possible.

Intelsat Transforming Commercial Shipping with New Multi-orbit Solutions

Intelsat, a longtime leader in providing satellite connectivity solutions for the entire maritime industry, continues to build out and introduce a wide range of multi-orbit connectivity solutions and terminals to meet the specific needs of the commercial shipping market. FlexMaritime Duo offers merchant shipping owners and operators the flexibility of a multi-orbit or LEO-only managed service structured to meet unique connectivity and business requirements. By layering LEO coverage in busy shipping routes on top of the global, ultra-reliable, high-throughput coverage of the FlexMaritime GEO network, vessels and crews gain the added benefit of a LEO service supporting data-intensive applications and are assured of always-available, robust, global connectivity anywhere they sail.

 

This article is sponsored by Intelsat. For more information, please visit https://www.intelsat.com/maritime/.