Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has agreed a deal with Inmarsat Maritime to upgrade its fleet from Fleet Xpress to the NexusWave connectivity system. The rollout will be managed in collaboration with local Inmarsat partner JSAT MOBILE Communications.
NexusWave provides a fully managed, bonded connectivity service combining multiple network underlays in a single connection. The deployment will take place across MOL’s fleet, including LNG carriers, oil tankers and car carriers.
“Our digitalised and connected ships are becoming floating operations centres and homes for our crew, and Inmarsat’s NexusWave will help keep them connected to high-speed internet and support our onboard digitalisation strategy.” Said Junichi Yoshiyama, Chief Digital & Information Officer, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines.
Inmarsat notes that, during recent testing, NexusWave has demonstrated download speeds of up to 340 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 80 Mbps, with average network availability above 99.9%. Future integration with the upcoming ViaSat-3 Ka-band network is expected to further improve aggregated speeds once that constellation is complete.
“We are proud to continue our partnership with MOL and to deliver NexusWave as an accelerator of maritime digitalisation and, by extension, an enabler of the floating office and floating home,” said Ben Palmer, President of Inmarsat Maritime.
