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Carisbrooke Shipping chooses Marlink VSAT

Carisbrooke Shipping chooses Marlink VSAT
Carisbrooke Shipping has chosen newly-rebranded satcoms firm Marlink to provide connectivity for its fleet of bulk and multipurpose vessels.

As well as Ku-Band VSAT, the delivery, expected to be complete by the end of the year, includes Marlink’s XChange BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) system, enabling crew members to connect their own smartphones, tablets and laptops, via Wi-Fi, to Marlink’s voice and data apps.

Under the deal, Carisbrooke vessels will benefit from downlink speeds of 1028 Kbps on Ku-Band VSAT, with L-band backup. “We are offering a seamless network that is invisible to the client,” said Olsen. “Because of the size of our business, the end user doesn’t really have to think about the back end. All the client needs to know is that it works.”

As part of the deal, Marlink’s Virtual Private Network (VPN) will enable  is considered to be extremely valuable by Carisbrooke, allowing remote control of IT equipment and systems on board and inevitably leading to simplified IT management and increased reliability.

“Marlink VSAT will complement an already modern fleet, allowing Carisbrooke to operate smarter and to support the changing communication needs of its seafarers wherever they are operating,” added Tore Morten Olsen, Marlink president of maritime.

“We have worked with Marlink on 10 vessels for four years,” said Martin Henry, Carisbrooke Shipping’s fleet technical director. “Improved control and management of systems and computer networks from ashore is a big plus, but more importantly, Marlink VSAT gives our crew members on board access to modern, reliable and fast communication services that can even be used from their own devices.”

Marlink is now the largest commercial maritime satcoms provider after its sale to APAX Partners from previous owner Airbus, and subsequent rebranding from Airbus Defence & Space to Marlink.