Statu Shipping, based in Istanbul, Turkey, has selected Ozsay Satellite Communications to migrate the firm's 11-strong bulk container vessel fleet to Marlink’s VSAT-based satellite communication services.
Marlink will deliver high-speed maritime broadband using the firm's market-leading Sealink VSAT and new 1 GB Allowance plans managed by the XChange communications management system. This will enable Statu Shipping to benefit from higher throughput as well as improved reliability and stability on their real-time fleet monitoring and planned maintenance systems.
Statu Shipping’s primary driver for migrating its fleet to VSAT was to achieve more bandwidth and uptime for the Navatom fleet management system, developed by their Hive, Inc., subsidiary software company. Navatom is a cloud based web application that shows vessel and company activity in real time—since its deployment throughout Statu Shipping’s fleet, Navatom has provided significant improvements in management performance, however, the Hive Inc. team advised Statu Shipping that migrating to Marlink VSAT with Ozsay Satellite Communications would unlock the potential of their solution.
Marlink's Xchange equipment.
Marlink and Ozsay Satellite Communications have already migrated six Statu Shipping vessels to the Sealink service, with the remaining five expected to be completed by June 2017. Early reports show a significant reduction in the numerous issues experienced using the Navatom solution, which previously suffered from regular disconnects, and slow connection speeds. Statu Shipping’s move to VSAT started with a trial of the Sealink 1 GB Allowance plan, with speeds of 3096/512 Kbps on an 83 cm antenna. Following successful completion of the three-month trial, the company opted to use the 1GB Sealink Allowance on all of its vessel in addition to installation of Marlink’s advanced XChange system. XChange enables Statu Shipping to manage its communication network from shore and to support the provision of communication services for crew members; another key driver for migrating to VSAT.
To secure a stable network between ship and shore, Statu Shipping also uses Marlink’s Virtual Private Network (VPN) service, which supports operational control via remote access to the vessel. Additionally, Statu Shipping crew will benefit from low cost voice calling on board, through Marlink’s Local Numbers service. Calls from shore to a Statu Shipping vessel cost the same price as a local call, with telephone numbers available from more than 50 countries and 4,000 cities worldwide.
According to Captain Yener Dandin, Superintendent & DPA, Statu Shipping, their real-time monitoring and maintenance systems are now running optimally, improving the company's ability to manage the fleet efficiently. Sealink also allows Statu to offer a much-improved communication service for keeping in touch with friends and family ashore, which has been very well received by the ships' crews.
Tore Morten Olsen, the President of Maritime at Marlink, the Sealink 1GB plan, combined with XChange, fits Statu Shipping’s requirements perfectly, enabling tangible improvements for operation of the existing fleet management system at a cost point that makes migrating to VSAT an easy choice.