Jana Avdeeva, Head of Marketing, ReOrbit
Despite the progress telecommunications have made, blind spots in connectivity prevail, even in those industries that serve as a backbone of the global society. One such industry that still needs support to overcome connectivity blind spots is maritime.
Ocean shipping has been the main transport mode for global trade: around 90% of goods are carried over the waves, onboard the global fleet of 118,928 merchant vessels.
Ten years ago, most ships sailed without a consistent, internet connection. In this day and age, myriad connected solutions promise to take safety and efficiency to new heights, while the solutions that emerge will have even more potential to transform shipping.
Why is there a need for such solutions, you might ask? For a highly complex machine made of hundreds of thousands of vessels that need to coordinate their voyages, manage sea traffic, align port departures and arrivals, and ensure safe and timely delivery of goods—an unavoidable and, arguably, the most critical action to take is for all the cogs of that machine to talk to one another and be able to instantly share data between ship and shore.
The latter has been an issue for years, if not decades, due to poor connections. Vodafone findings showed that nearly 90% of data generated on board the ship never leaves the deck.
Idwal, a British ship inspection company, has launched a social impact report that draws on data from more than 13,000 vessel inspections over a 17 month period through to September of 2023, providing unparalleled transparency into the working and living conditions experienced by seafarers. Among key findings was the poor access to internet across much of the global fleet, while as much as 13% of the global merchant fleet has no internet access at all.
Another curious fact worth keeping in mind is that the global average time ships spent in port has been around 45,5 hours, which, among other factors, is rooted in the lack of ship-to-shore connectivity itself, and, as a result, slows down the supply chain, increases emissions and further entangles an already complicated operational sequence.
“The unfortunate reality is that still today, crews and ship systems remain connectivity-handicapped,” said Markus Mannevaara, Director of Fleet Optimization Product Line at Wärtsilä, a global leader in innovative technologies and lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. “Maritime may become the last industry to move away from paper logbooks. Even if we look at e-logbooks today, they are considered maritime electronics. However, with abundant, reliable connectivity, the logbook would become a cloud-hosted product with entirely different safety regulations than an electronic device. Not to mention remote operations and autonomous operations in general will happen only with a revolution in connectivity.”
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Paving the way for digital transformation
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The One Sea Association, a global alliance of leading commercial manufacturers, integrators and operators of maritime technology, digital solutions and automated and autonomous systems, concurs with the aforementioned statement. “Autonomous technology is frequently misunderstood as operating without human oversight or connection to the surrounding world. However, all new technologies rely on some form of connectivity, and the more significant the requirement for human interaction is, the greater the need for connectivity becomes,” said Sinikka Hartonen, Secretary General at One Sea.
A dramatic increase in data usage in shipping has been recorded, according to an Inmarsat survey. This demand was driven by business applications, such as voyage optimization and remote auditing, which accounted for a 131% increase in data usage, and also by crew data usage, which rose by 149%. This is where more vividly than ever satellite communications come into the spotlight.
Hartonen continued,“Satellite maritime communications have unlocked numerous applications that benefit both business operations and crew welfare. On the business side, for example, customers can have real-time monitoring of cargo, providing them with timely and accurate updates. Additionally, automated handling of cargo information has streamlined processes for ports and terminals, improving overall logistics and turnaround times.”
Not to forget the unsung heroes—seafarers who spend months at sea in a row. “For onboard welfare, satellite connectivity has significantly improved crew members’ quality of life. They can now stay in touch with family and friends more easily, reducing feelings of isolation. Improved remote support services can also help in addressing medical and health-related issues and emergencies through online connectivity,”Hartonen added.
Those comments are echoed by Mannevaara, who draws parallels between crews and satellites. “Both are essential part of the picture, yet so distant. At least for crews, who are a crucial part of operations, we are able to change the situation.”
As Vodafone, Idwal, and many other findings suggest, despite satellite communications (SATCOM) and connectivity in shipping having advanced significantly, there is still a long way to go toward full elimination of blind spots and continuum of coverage.
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Bridging the gap
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One challenge is the high cost, which can be prohibitive for many operators. “Lowering these costs through innovation and economies of scale could encourage broader adoption,” noted Sinikka Hartonen.
Mannevaara added, “The Impetus is there, as already today, SATCOMs are making waves among Wärtsilä customers. However, there need to be more satellite service providers to decrease the cost, as well as help with redundancy, as we shouldn’t keep all of the communication eggs in one basket.”
“Another challenge to overcome is ensuring consistent and reliable satellite coverage across all maritime routes to ensure seamless connectivity. Addressing this issue would enhance the reliability,” said Hartonen.
Developments on that front have been fostered by combining Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite connectivity to ensure 24/7 seamless coverage.
Telecommunications satellites placed in GEO, 36 000 kilometres above Earth’s equator, follow the direction of Earth’s rotation. Thanks to a fixed position relative to the Earth, SATCOMs can provide a stable and secure connection between two locations without the need for a vulnerable public internet connection or shared ground stations.
Truly astonishing is how a single satellite can reach thousands of users and serve thousands of terminals. GEO SATCOM helps to avoid waiting time to transmit and receive data, as it offers precise signal placement simultaneously over large areas of the Earth. SATCOM’s wide-ranging, global coverage from GEO is perfect for the job of keeping maritime connectivity intact, wherever vessels are sailing.
The evolution of satellite communication has been marked by significant milestones and advancements in technology, which make SATCOM solutions more efficient and cost-effective for users (in terms of cost per Mbps), while multi-orbit satellite architecture delivers best-of-breed service for consumers.
Take ReOrbit’s SiltaSat for instance, which provides unparalleled reliability, efficiency, and flexibility in GEO as well as full ownership of the network for the customer. SiltaSat is a high-throughput satellite that is especially useful for maritime as vessels rarely stay in the same place.
The satellite is highly suitable for regional and targeted coverage —those blind spots that have long prevailed in maritime can be now eliminated. Moreover, the satellite’s software-enabled architecture unlocks flexibility for power and bandwidth optimization, which is essential for high and low traffic route navigation.
Additionally, ReOrbit’s satellites are able to transmit data via laser-based links that are more focused than radio links—they have small beamwidths and comparatively higher bandwidths—which means that between transmitter and receiver, there are less photons going astray, with the concentration of a lot of energy on quite a small area.
As laser link relay networks are poised to revolutionize the space sector, the use of both optical and radio communications for maritime assets will add extra bandwidth and new capabilities across the market to existing and new solutions that connect space, the ocean and ground.
Today’s global society is standing on the brink of further developments in satellite technology, which continues to advance connectivity for the benefit of the world’s spinal industries, such as maritime.
There is much more to be done to ensure seamless coverage at any given moment in time; however, one small satellite can initiate a giant leap for mankind—and help to find what has been lost at sea.
www.reorbit.space