Shipping Company Groningen (SCG) in the Netherlands is to install new 4G-LTE internet connectivity for its crews on all 30 of its vessels, following the agreement of a new contract with service provider Castor Marine.
SCG will offer its personnel a Crew Welfare Zone with free internet within the 4G coverage zone up to 20km from shore, on the Castor Marine Global 4G Connectivity package.
The installed system manages transitions between 4G and the vessel Inmarsat FleetBroadband or Iridium Open Port L-Band satellite connections when moving in or out of the coverage area, using dedicated software installed on its Peplink routers.
“Some of our captains have already reported that they had 4G connectivity at 45 nautical miles from the coast,” said Marc van Gemert, IT Manager at SCG.
“We are looking forward to see the system installed and then be able to forget about it.”
Castor Marine notes that the system software continues to maintain a VPN tunnel even when IP addresses change when the vessel connects to another network, and includes user rights management, firewalls, SD-WAN and real-time monitoring tools for each individual data stream and access point.
