Tanzania-headquartered Coastal International Shipping Line (CISL) has agreed a deal to implement communications management systems from maritime start-up SnakeWays on board its vessels, becoming the firm’s first customer based on the African continent.
CISL will deploy the SnakeBox to manage ship to shore communication services over satellite and cellular networks. The equipment will also host a SnakeMail application, which will take over from vessels’ current e-mail service.
“We needed to upgrade our vessel connectivity and from the outset we were impressed with the capabilities of the SnakeWays team and the way they have adapted state-of the-art technology to meet the specific requirements of the modern ship manager,” said Spyridon Tzamtzis, Technical Director of CISL.
“Particularly important to us was the ease of deployment on board with minimal disruption to the existing IT network of the vessels. “
The vessels will have smart switching functionality enabled on the SnakeBox to manage routing between cellular and satellite networks based on availability, price and quotas. Access rules can also be configured based on the ship-to-shore network connection or the different user connecting to the system.
“We are very pleased to have CISL on board. The extension of our customer base to four continents within a year of SnakeWays’ commercial launch is a very significant milestone for the company. It validates our concept of an independent, free-standing communication platform that hosts critical communications applications such as SnakeMail and SnakeSwitch,” said Peter Schulze, CEO of SnakeWays.
“Based on smartphone technology the SnakeBox is a light, cool-running alternative to the traditional shipboard setup of a ‘Smart Box’ twinned with a PC based e-mail application.”
