Satcom Global has reported that Mermaid Maritime has installed AuraNow VSAT on board an accommodation vessel to enable flexible bandwidth for business efficiency and crew communications.
AuraNow VSAT enables unlimited bandwidth changes, with no hidden fees or penalties, making it the ideal solution for offshore vessels that are required to adapt at short notice to meet changing customer needs. As an industry first, Mermaid Maritime will only pay for the connectivity required in 24 hour increments, offering unprecedented flexibility and cost saving opportunities.
The Resiliant, the 102 meter long, pipe lay and accommodation work barge housing more than 250 crew has activated a monthly Ku-band base package with a CIR guaranteeing data speeds. Furthermore, the AuraNow solution gives Mermaid Maritime the power and flexibility to change the bandwidth on the vessel at any time on the AuraNow portal in order to meet their communications requirements on board.
Mermaid Maritime can use the AuraNow customer portal to upgrade the vessel’s Ku-band package immediately and for as little as 24 hours, facilitating increased requirements for data at short notice whilst on charter. AuraNow also enables customers to schedule bandwidth downgrades or even fully suspend their service without penalty, providing opportunities for cost savings should a vessel be off charter, between projects, or in port.
On recent vessel attendances in Singapore, Satcom Global’s team of expert engineers installed two Intellian v100NX maritime antenna and below deck racks, enabling separate systems for client business and crew communications. The Resiliant, with its 300 ton crane and two, 60 ton, pipe-lay tension system, will operate in the Songkhla region in the Gulf of Thailand and was also fitted with the Intellian C700 delivering the Iridium Certus service as a global L-band back-up solution.
AuraNow offers a communications management portal for 24/7/365 control over vessel connectivity, allowing fleet managers to control VSAT bandwidth as needs and requirements change. With bandwidth on demand, customers can instantly upgrade their bandwidth package at the touch of a button, or schedule future downgrades and suspensions of their service. The one-stop-shop also gives visibility of vessel connectivity status and performance, as well as weather and sea conditions, satellite beam overlay and vessel tracking.
“We are very happy with our experience with Satcom Global, including service responsiveness and efficiency. The flexibility of Satcom Global’s AuraNow VSAT solution offers Mermaid Maritime a significant competitive advantage, offering a variety of benefits to our organization, which in the offshore industry, faces variable customer requirements with very significant activity changes at short notice.” — Francis Nicolas Langenfeld, Sub Contract Manager in the Project Department, Mermaid Maritime
“Vessel operational data speed requirements are almost never consistent. The current competitive offerings in the maritime VSAT market typically encourage customers to purchase a high bandwidth package for longer than they may need it. This is inefficient and costly to the customer. AuraNow allows our customers to optimise the efficiency of their network. Vessel managers can easily make bandwidth changes instantly through our proprietary portal, minimising the unnecessary costs associated with long-term fixed contracts. We hope that Mermaid Maritime enjoys the network flexibility, freedom, and efficiency, that AuraNow will provide to them.” — James Tucker, President, Asia Pacific at Satcom Global
