Shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has agreed to increase the roll-out of Inmarsat’s satellite-based Fleet Xpress Service across the remainder of its fleet.
Japan-based MOL was one of the earliest adopters of Fleet Express, deploying Inmarsat’s high-speed broadband connectivity on the majority of its Car-Carriers in 2016.
According to a statement, MOL will now install the service on the rest of its vessels, including bulk carriers and LNG ships.
David Moosbrugger explores how intelligent data systems are being used in a recent Port Technology technical paper
Fleet Xpress has emerged as a pathway to digital transformation, and shipping companies are adopting the service to deliver improved vessel and fleet efficiency, boost profitability and enhance the wellbeing of seafarers.
MOL’s fleet-wide commitment correlates with the shipping company’s plan to scale up its own digitalization initiative, which involves leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT) and advanced data analytics.
The movement towards increasingly digital operations, driven by guaranteed connectivity aboard seagoing vessels, could improve the safety, efficiency and environmental impact of shipping.
MOL Trials Aerial Drone Inspections #PTIDaily SEE MORE: https://t.co/yIv29dXslk#drones #shipping #safety pic.twitter.com/G0cn1OxXIt
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Ronald Spithout, President of Inmarsat Maritime, said: “There is no doubt MOL believes that digital technology can have a profound impact on vessel operations and its broader business objectives.
“Fleet Xpress lays the foundation for the successful realisation of its smart-shipping ambitions by bringing together greater bandwidth and high resilience in a seamless, fully-managed service.”
A further statement from MOL read: “As Satellite communications technology has grown dramatically over the past decade, we have adopted VSAT from an early stage, for email communication and sharing of images between ship and shore and now we can also monitor equipment.
“The continued roll-out of Fleet Xpress will help implement our Forecast maintenance solutions through our FOCUS platform and we will continue to develop our use of satellite communication in the future to help to continue to digitalise our vessels.”
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