Florida-based ship owner and operator Crowley Maritime Corp. has signed a contract with satellite communications provider Inmarsat to install high-speed broadband service Fleet Xpress on a majority of its vessels.
The deal was signed following successful trials in Alaska on Aframax tanker, California, and the recently reflagged vessel Rio Grande Express.
The trials showcased the use of a combination of high-speed Fleet Xpress on Ka-band with continuous back up from FleetBroadband on L-band. Crowley said that the combination significantly enhanced the stability of communications and available uptime. “Communication needs for an operator with a variety of vessel types like Crowley are rapidly increasing and we require a level of performance and reliability that is proven and trusted, with a dedicated support network that is continuously available,” Captain Rodney Jones, Director Operations Integrity with Crowley Global Ship Management , said.
“Fleet Xpress meets this demand and proved very successful in the trials that were carried out on the California in Alaska and the Rio Grande Express operating in a Liner service.”
All vessels covered in the agreement will install either a Fleet Xpress GX60 or GX100 terminal from Intellian and an Infinity smartbox solution that will allow the vessels to access a number of services, including bandwidth control and remote user management.