Chinese shipowner Pacific Gas has agreed a deal to implement the Fleet Xpress VSAT service from Inmarsat across all of its operational ships by the end of this year, as well as on any future vessels. The roll-out will additionally include the installation of Inmarsat’s Fleet Secure Endpoint cyber security system, to protect onboard networks.
The Hong Kong-headquartered group, the largest Liquid Ethylene Gas (LEG) ship owner in China, currently controls three million tons of annual cargo carrying capacity, and intends to expand beyond its existing focus on very large gas carriers and LEG ships into Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) carriers and Very Large Ethane carriers (VLECs) in the near future.
“Fleet Xpress helps us to scale our digital activities and complement the ship management software that we installed for resource planning on vessels,” said Capt. Tao Yong, Vice President Fleet, Pacific Gas.
“With real-time data exchange, vessels are now an extension to our shore office and we base our operational efficiency and performance gains on continuous monitoring and real-time upgrades and assistance. Internet access at sea is also vital for crew welfare and essential to attracting and retaining talented crew.”
“With our growing dependence on technology and providing open internet access we could be susceptible to cyberattacks, so we needed more than a conventional anti-virus to protect our systems 24/7 and from the various kinds of evolving threats. As a modern ship owner we ensure that all our vessels are equipped with state-of-the-art technology and security systems that complement Inmarsat’s global, secure and reliable connectivity.”
Powered by ESET Endpoint Security, Fleet Secure Endpoint monitors ship systems for security breaches introduced at ‘endpoints’, either by malicious software or by a new crew device with no security installed.
If a ‘rogue node’ is detected the issue is immediately reported, and the node is isolated from the rest of the network until resolved.
