Norwegian shipowner Golden Energy Offshore has signed up for Inmarsat’s three-in-one network service Fleet LTE on three support vessels, to provide automatic switching between Ka-band Fleet Xpress, L-band FleetBroadband, and 4G coverage, depending on the strongest available signal.
“Fleet LTE provides flexibility to tailor connectivity needs for our internal use, for the needs of charterers, and for each person on board,” said Per Ivar Fagervoll, CEO, Golden Energy Offshore.
“It will enhance crew welfare by supporting day-to-day needs such as banking and keeping in contact with families. It will support data-intensive activities such as video conferencing, replication, and real-time data transfer. And, as an ISO 50001 certified company committed to green operations, Golden Energy Offshore sees it as essential to fully utilise performance analysis software to maintain our environmental focus.”
“We also have plans to move forward with class societies and customers on remote inspections and equipment servicing. Installation of Fleet LTE allows us to do all this most effectively while making significant cost savings, which are always welcome.”
Golden Energy Offshore is already an existing user of the satellite operator’s VSAT services. The switch to Fleet LTE will involve integrations of 4G connectivity onboard Energy Duchess, Energy Empress, and Energy Swan, with installations scheduled as part of forthcoming port calls.
Having initially launched Fleet LTE coverage to North Sea customers in 2020, Inmarsat is currently expanding service availability to include 4G antennas in other parts of Northern Europe and says it has plans for comparable service in the Gulf of Mexico.
“Vessel data consumption in the offshore space is doubling every 18 months,” said Eric Griffin, VP of Offshore and Fishing, Inmarsat Maritime.
“Costs can be hard to control when connectivity services are billed separately, while manual switchovers can mean suboptimal signals or service interruptions. Inmarsat Fleet LTE’s ability to ensure that network capacity is at its highest and latency at its lowest continuously delivers a competitive advantage to corporate and independent operators alike.”
