Anglo-Eastern Plans The Roll-Out Of 200 Starlink Vessels

One of the leading ship managers in the world, Anglo-Eastern, plans on rolling out the broadband service that belongs to SpaceX’s Starlink Maritime on about 200 vessels by this year’s end. There will be more to follow. The firm says that, initially, it placed a preliminary order that covers a dozen vessels of different types and patterns of trading so that the service can be trialled across scenarios before a broader roll-out in the coming months.

The journey began a year back when Starlink declared l “RV” service. Once deployed on several vessels, it was immediately apparent that it was a game-changer, mentioned by the Anglo-Eastern CIO named Torbjorn Dimblad.

Overnight, the vessels became as connected as any home or office, affording the crew members unprecedented access to family and friends while enabling a new collaboration between the ship and the shore.

Dimblad perceives the introduction of Starlink Maritime as reaching the perfect time.

Part of the digitalization journey involved standardizing hardware on board, mentions Dimbland.

Since 2020, the firm has commissioned over 600 data centres and replaced about 5,000 workstations across the fleet. The underlying infrastructure is in place to leverage accelerated connectivity.

Simultaneously, satellite service providers have also reported significant rises in the bandwidth demand fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic and new technology solutions on board. Starlink reportedly adds terabytes of network capacity with low latency at a pretty competitive rate.

All additional bandwidth will go into doing what the firm is doing today, only more of it and quite faster, mentioned Bjorn Hojgaard, the Anglo-Eastern CEO.

The addition of Starlink’s LEO network, OneWeb and Project Kuiper will change life on board in a manner we’ve never experienced in shipping history. Soon, seafarers will be ‘always-on’, enjoying the same connectivity that individuals ashore are used to. The ship is expected to become a smooth extension of the office, where team members are closer to the machinery.

If issues arise on board that need support, the expert vessel team could launch a Teams video call and ask for a hand, mentioned Hojgaard.

During the off-hours, the most recent movies or TV shows could be streamed live from one’s home. The possibilities are endless; the belief is that this will help make the industry more secure, safer, and attractive for future generations.

References: Hong Kong Maritime Hub, Marine Log