Inmarsat has received IMO approval to deliver what it calls its most significant advance in maritime safety in a generation.
Its Fleet Safety solution has been approved as a new service to support the Global Maritime Distress & Safety System (GMDSS).
“Fleet Safety is the most significant advance in maritime safety services since the introduction of GMDSS in 1999,” said Ronald Spithout, President, Inmarsat Maritime.
“It restates our commitment to maintaining and improving safety services for the maritime industry.”
Improved safety
The approval means that ship owners and operators will now be able to combine maritime safety and broadband data services in a single FleetBroadband or Fleet One terminal provided by Inmarsat.
This means that ship owners and operators currently deploying FleetBroadband or Fleet One will be able to access GMDSS approved safety services, as well as a host of new innovative safety features only available via the Inmarsat Fleet Safety system, by the addition of a small Maritime Safety Terminal (MST).
Inmarsat intends to create a new generation of stand-alone terminals that, in future, will both incorporate FleetBroadband and MST into a single device and deliver higher speeds, in excess of 1Mbps.
Fleet Safety will be delivered over the existing Inmarsat-4 constellation and the new Inmarsat-6 satellites; the first of which is due for launch in 2020.
Fleet Safety includes a new web-based version of SafetyNET, SafetyNET II, the international system for broadcasting and automatic reception of Maritime Safety Information (MSI) and Search and Rescue (SAR) communications.
For Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCC), Inmarsat has developed RescueNET, a free web-based service linking current and future Inmarsat Safety Services, as well as increasing MRCC capabilities with enhanced, real-time coordination during a search and rescue operation.
By Anne-Marie Causer
