Container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has expanded the use of Fleet Xpress across its fleet, agreeing a new five-year contract with Inmarsat for the Ka-band VSAT service and an expansion of the terms to install the system on a further 33 ships.
The extended agreement now covers 77 vessels in total, including new ships merged into the Hapag-Lloyd fleet following the acquisition of United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) in May 2017.
“The further standardisation of our vessel communication systems is central to our Maritime IT strategy,” said Florian Liebetrau, Director IT – Marine & Maritime Operations, Hapag-Lloyd.
“The outstanding reliability and robustness of Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress as a product played a key role in our decision to expand our commitment. Hapag-Lloyd has a mature strategy for its vessel connectivity and management which demands systems-wide predictability, reliability, and integration to sustain our global vision for container transport.”
Hapag Lloyd was one of the first major shipping companies to commit to Fleet Xpress following service launch in 2016, transitioning all of its in-house managed ships to the service. This new agreement includes the flexibility for Fleet Xpress-connected ships that are managed out of house and linked to Hapag-Lloyd operations to be brought under the same contract terms without renegotiation.
“We are delighted to renew and expand the work we do with one of shipping’s most advanced owners for IT, ship-shore connectivity and digitalisation,” said Ronald Spithout, President, Inmarsat Maritime.
“Standardisation and integration are pivotal enablers for corporates. This agreement and its expansion to 33 additional ships clearly demonstrate Hapag-Lloyd’s objectives are being met by the reliability, performance, and service support provided by Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress.”
