Firms sign MoU to develop next gen satellite comms

Vessel manufacturer Al Seer Marine has signed a MoU with communications company Yahsat to test line-fitting unmanned vessels with advanced satellite connectivity solutions.

“Our two organisations share common interests in promoting the technologies that are needed in today’s world,” said Holger Schulte-Hillen, chief operating officer, Al Seer Marine.

“This partnership is an important development for us and aligns with our efforts to boost our contribution to the UAE’s sovereign developed technology solutions in the maritime safety, security and communications sectors by enabling Al Seer Marine and Yahsat collaboration.”

Advanced comms

Yahsat Government Solutions (YGS) advanced satellite communications solutions will be jointly offered to customers to support critical operations such as Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) protection, security, anti-piracy, anti-human trafficking and coastal patrol.

The MoU will enable Al Seer Marine to build on Yahsat’s extensive experience in delivering highly secure satellite communications services for safety and security mission-critical applications such as Comms-on-the-Move (COTM) and Beyond Line of Sight (BLoS).

By pre-qualifying its COTM solutions to work efficiently on Al Seer’s unmanned vessels, Yahsat said it has developed a strong business model and value proposition, which will reduce the integration and timeline risks, ensures platforms’ structural and design integrity, warrants onboard combat systems and sensor compatibility and more importantly, optimises system integration costs.

The combined expertise of Al Seer Marine and Yahsat in melding COTM, BLoS and other combat systems on maritime platforms opens the door to an exciting range of add-ons, creating massive value for customers while ensuring performance, reliability and security.

In September, Al Seer Marine formed a joint venture with BGN International, one of the world’s leading energy, trading, storage, and transport companies, to acquire a portfolio of very large gas carriers (VLGCs) for transport of liquefied petroleum gas around the world.

The joint venture also awarded a contract to South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries to build two new VLGCs, each with a capacity of 86,000 cubic metres, the companies said. The new carriers are due for delivery in the first and second quarters of 2023.