Maritime VSATs: From Crew Amenity to Corporate Necessity
by Chris Frith
Singapore, June 4, 2012--Many fleet owners, looking to improve the lives of their crew by providing an affordable means for them to keep in touch with family and friends while onboard, turn to VSAT-based solutions to provide the connectivity. But it doesn’t need to stop there. The same VSAT system can be used to improve the bottom-line by enabling closer integration between ship and shore operations, just in the same way VSATs are used the world over to link branch offices to their headquarters. This article examines the wide variety of ship based applications proactive fleet managers are now using their satellite link for.
It is an extract from an ITC Global Whitepaper on applying enterprise network concepts to maritime communications, details of which are included at the end of this article.
Have you ever wondered where old movies go to die? Well, I’ve found the answer: Cable television. On cable-TV you find all the old movies –not so much the classics but the run-of-the-mill ones from the 80’s and 90’s. Apart from getting a laugh from fashion styles back then, old movies offer a good reminder of the way office communications used to be.
Once, the telex and then the fax reigned supreme as a step-up from just making a phone call – particularly when you needed to have a record of what was ‘said’.
Today, it’s email, or more likely, you will directly access your corporate management information system to approve requests online. Not sure of something? Want to look up your company’s policy on sick leave? The information is more likely to be found on your company’s intranet. The abundance of relatively inexpensive bandwidth both within the office and connecting you to the internet has allowed a multitude of applications to develop.
That’s Not the Case in Martime, Or Is It?
Yes, it is. Although the historical, decentralized nature of fleet management, limited bandwidth availability and high usage costs have meant change has been more evolutionary than revolutionary; it is happening. And it’s happening on a number of different fronts: from increased use of email and telephony to enhanced fleet management systems that enable fleet managers to improve their bottom line by reducing fuel consumption and better avoiding threats such as piracy. Lets take a closer look at some of them.
Machine-to-Machine
In order to make a decision, you need access to accurate data on a timely basis. Many efficiency based initiatives require centralised pooling of information back at headquarters. Unfortunately for many Captains and First-mates this has lead to a dramatic increase in their administrative workloads.
Proactive fleet managers are now using more machine-to-machine communications to automate data collation and reporting on the state of key pieces of equipment and cargo - something that is now commonplace on land. These sensors act as tell-tales of future potential future maintenance issues enabling fleet managers to proactively plan maintenance to improve reliability and prevent having to pay top dollar for emergency repairs in a foreign port.
Fleet Management Systems
It’s one thing to collect data but it’s another being able to use it. To this end, a new generation of fleet management systems which give fleet managers a more visual, easy-to-use and powerful system for enhancing the safety of ships and crew, reducing fuel consumption and curbing carbon emissions are becoming more commonplace. This has the effect of increasing data flows to and from each vessel.
Administration
Consistent with the trend towards more centralised management is the use of administrative applications onboard vessels. Today it is likely that figures will be entered directly into the company’s centralised ERP system, as opposed to sending a fax or email, saving on data entry. Primarily designed for use on a corporate LAN, these applications can be particularly sensitive to latency and therefore require consistent data flows to operate efficiently.
Operational Data
Operational data is not so much related to the operation of the ship but what it is being used for. Typically large in volume this data might be generated from drilling analysis, seismic readings and so on. There is often a commercial imperative dictating the rapid transmission back to shore which can strain the communications channel. Some vessels may have the luxury of space to support a second VSAT antenna dedicated for this purpose; smaller vessels need to accommodate this traffic within their existing links.
Crew Welfare Communications
For those companies providing crew welfare communications, the challenge is in the nature of the traffic and its ability to swamp the limited bandwidth available on the vessel’s communications link. At present, email is the data application of choice however, social networking – aka Facebook is on the rise. Crew are also looking for ‘news from home in preference to just watching DVDs for their visual entertainment. These sites are naturally content rich and therefore have a different traffic profile to email which is normally sent without attachments. They also require continuous acknowledgements as the page downloads which can easily swamp the ship’s inroute channel during peak times. At present companies typically turn-off access to these sites however this is likely to lead to problems retaining younger crew members who regard such access as “essential” when spending months at sea.
A Model for Effective Communications
Satellite offers a world of possibilities once the decision is made to move viewing your VSAT link as “just something to give a bit of Internet to the crew” to a managed IP network that forms part of how the organisation generates competitive advantages. Here the IT manager must act like a city planner, developing a series of priority lanes within the overall communications freeway. But it goes beyond bandwidth alone, the typology of the network must reflect where the assets (vessels, platforms, etc) operate, the movement amongst regions and the level of interaction between each vessel and fleet management and potentially each other.
The key to success is not so much a function of just paying more but rather, working to ensure there is a fit between business objectives and the link utilized – there’s a place for a $300 service and a place for a $3,000 service however they are seldom the same place!
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Chris Frith is the founder and CEO of SatCHOICE, a new, global online marketplace that matches satellite communications suppliers with purchase-ready buyers. He can be reached at chris.frith@satchoice.com
Readers interested in further information on applying enterprise network concepts to maritime communications are encouraged to to download the free whitepaper available at http://www.satchoice.com/article_list.php
