Social Media
Three Missing After Tourist Boat Fire in the Red Sea
Three British tourists were missing and 12 had been rescued after a motor boat caught fire on Sunday off the Egyptian Red Sea coast, Egyptian officials and security sources said.The survivors were brought to safety in the nearby diving resort of Marsa Shagra, about 21km (13 miles) north of the town of Marsa Alam, along with 12 Egyptian crew and guides, according to a statement from the Red Sea State governor's office and two security sources.The fire was caused by an electrical short circuit on the boat…
Intelsat Adds Compact FlexMaritime 45cm Antenna Class
Satellite communications services provider Intelsat on Wednesday released a smaller antenna class for its FlexMaritime high-throughput satellite (HTS) service geared for leisure, fishing and commercial maritime vessels globally.The new maritime mobility solution enabled by the 45cm antenna is designed to bring a new level of broadband connectivity performance and affordability for fishing, leisure, tugs and other workboats, as well as smaller or coastal merchant ships, Intelsat said.Small enough to hand carry aboard vessels…
Fire Guts Yacht Under Maintenance in Dubai
A fire broke out on Friday on a yacht under maintenance off the Dubai coast, caused by an engine malfunction, the local authorities said. No casualties were reported.Thick black smoke was visible from the Dubai coastline - including a beach near the ultra-luxurious Burj al-Arab hotel - causing concern that it could be coming from an oil tanker or a passenger ship, as tensions run high between Iran and the United States.According to two Reuters witnesses, the smoke dissipated about an hour after it was first reported in social media postings.The U.S.
Interview: Tore Morten Olsen, President Maritime, Marlink
Tore Morten Olsen, President Maritime, Marlink, discusses the pace and direction of high speed comms in maritime.Using metrics of your choice, put in perspective where we are today in terms of getting shipowners to adopt high speed communication solutions.The term broadband has been used in the maritime industry for at least a decade and if we are to follow the FCC’s definition which was upgraded to 25mbps from 4mbps (download) in 2015, then those high speed internet services are nothing of the sort.However, everything is relative.
IMOCA Appoints Iridium
Iridium Communications has announced that the International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA), has named Iridium as their Official Communications Partner for the 2019-2021 race season. IMOCA has also chosen Thales as its partner and sole provider of Iridium Certus L-band broadband equipment and will equip the IMOCA racing fleet with their VesseLINK connectivity solution. From June 2019 to June 2021, IMOCA race teams will rely upon Iridium Certus as their primary means of satellite communication. Together, Iridium and Thales will provide satcom connectivity for several high-profile yachting events that attract a global audience…
KVH Debuts New VSAT Antenna
KVH introduced the TracPhone V11-HTS, and antenna that the company dubs 'the world’s fastest' 1 meter Ku/C-band maritime VSAT antenna.The V11-HTS is designed to deliver data speeds as fast as 20 Mbps down/3 Mbps, supporting the upward trend of information transport on commercial ships today for operations, Internet of Things (IoT) applications, and crew connectivity.“With the TracPhone V11-HTS, we continue to bring innovative solutions to the maritime market, enabling commercial vessel operators to take advantage of the many benefits of VSAT…
Dan Lenard crosses Atlantic on the world’s greenest sailboat.
Like another Italian explorer who set sail from Spain to discover a new world, Christopher Columbus, renowned superyacht designer Dan Lenard is making the same journey. However, Lenard is creating a whole, new world as he personally tries to change the marine industry, embarking upon a solo, transatlantic crossing using no hydrocarbons or electronics in his prototype sailboat, Vela 33.Without any technology - no GPS, no compass, no autopilot, no fuel, no engine, no battery and no generator - Lenard will navigate the Atlantic solely by sight, stars and sun.
KVH Unveils New LTE System for Offshore Internet Access
Satellite communications provider KVH Industries, Inc. announced it is introducing an all-in-one solution for boaters looking for higher data speeds and greater Internet range offshore than what the average cellphone can provide.The new TracPhone LTE-1 marine communications system is designed to provide Internet access in U.S. waters more than 20 miles offshore, with data download speeds up to 100 Mbps. The LTE-A (LTE Advanced) system is compact and affordable enough for a vast…
Beagle Star to Use Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress for Superyachts
Inmarsat has launched a new and flexible Fleet Xpress plan for superyachts to address the seasonal luxury market, and through its partner e3 Systems has signed up the first superyacht Beagle Star V, a luxury sail yacht, to the plan. The award-winning Fleet Xpress service has become the fastest growing VSAT service in the 2017 commercial shipping market. With additional flexibility being a key demand for the superyacht industry, where voice and video calls, entertainment and social media can vary widely during the season, Inmarsat has developed a new flexible plan for Fleet Xpress to specifically meet the demands of this market.
First Superyacht Signs up for Fleet Xpress Plan
Inmarsat has launched a new and flexible Fleet Xpress plan for superyachts to address the seasonal luxury market, and through its partner e3 Systems has signed up the first superyacht Beagle Star V, a luxury sail yacht, to the plan. The award-winning Fleet Xpress service has become the fastest growing VSAT service in the 2017 commercial shipping market. With additional flexibility being a key demand for the superyacht industry, where voice and video calls, entertainment and social media can vary widely during the season…
Broadband Demand
Satellite-based connectivity has always played a critical role for the maritime sector. As the communications expectations of ship owners, passengers and crews continue to grow, maritime service providers are seeing a transformation in the type and quantity of applications that need to be supported at sea. The advent of VSAT broadband services is driving a shift away from traditional, low-level L-band connections that ship operators have relied upon for decades. VSAT services are preferred to respond to the demand for high-speed broadband that can support bandwidth-intensive applications.
Gercke to Christen AIDAperla
Lena Gercke will christen AIDAperla, the 12th member of the AIDA fleet, in Palma de Mallorca on June 30, 2017. In Germany, Gercke is among the most famous and successful models and presenters. The skyline of the old city of Palma will form the perfect backdrop when the night sky above AIDAperla is transformed into a sparkling sea of color during a spectacular music and lighting event. “With her natural charm and vitality, Lena Gercke is the ideal godmother of AIDAperla. I’m delighted that she will christen our new vessel.
Boston Whaler Launches Redesigned Website
On September 21, Boston Whaler launched an entirely new approach to its website, bostonwhaler.com. Designed for a user-friendly experience with improved navigation and functionality throughout, the reimagined site provides visitors with engaging lifestyle content and deeper insight into owning a Whaler. Customers can now more easily access detailed information about Boston Whaler’s unsinkable product lineup. “The new bostonwhaler.com demonstrates our commitment to providing our customers with an intuitive and enjoyable user experience,” said Jeff Vaughn, Boston Whaler vice president of sales, marketing and customer service.
Stuart, Shapiro Join OceanLED
Marine and underwater LED lighting provider OceanLED has anounced two new staff appointments to its global leadership team: sales, product, business and organizational expert Charlie Stuart joins the company as Global Managing Director, and Lindsay Shapiro joins as the new Marketing Manager. A seasoned leader with expertise in design, sales, operational change and process management, Stuart is responsible for implementing new business and operational processes, while also overseeing the product development lifecycle and new product launches…
iKommunicate Brings the 'Internet of Things' to Boats
iKommunicate from Digital Yacht is a radical new gateway designed to get traditional marine electronics connected to the next generation of interfacing and the internet of things. It was developed via a successful Kickstarter crowd funded project back in early 2016 and is now available as a consumer product. NMEA 0183 and NMEA 2000 interfacing have been utilised for many years and are now the defacto interconnect standard for all major brands of electronics. They are super reliable but relatively old fashioned in that they are slow and also complex for application developers to work with - like a dial up modem in a broadband age.
Online at Sea: Cruise Company Debuts Social Media Flat Fee
The advent of broadband at sea continues to expand, as German cruis brand AIDA introduces a flat-fee for social media networks onboard its ships. AIDA Cruises is introducing an Internet flat fee for social media networks on board its ships. For 4 euros per day, or 19 euros per week, passengers will be able to share their experiences on board with friends in popular social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or WhatsApp. “The use of mobile devices is continuously growing.
Cruise Ships Cancel Tunisia Calls in Wake of Islamic Terrorists Attack
Cruise lines like Holland America, MSC Cruises, Costa Cruises, Star Clippers, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and Aida Cruises have canceled all port stops to Tunisia for the rest of the year following the jihadist terrorist attack and massacre in the capital March 18th. Seventeen cruisers from Costa Cruises and MSC Cruises ships visiting Tunis for the day were killed in Wednesday's attack, which took place at the city's Bardo National Museum. More than 20 other cruisers were wounded. The Seattle-based Holland America has announced that…
Learning Lessons from British Cycling at ISS
Next month, Terry Greenwood of British Cycling will be speaking at the 13th International Sailing Summit (ISS). He will reveal the concept behind the triumphant revival of British Cycling as inspiration of an ambitious future for the sailing industry. Taking place on 17 November 2014 the Summit will address a global marine audience with innovative ways to engage an all-inclusive audience and generate business success. Terry Greenwood will identify lessons from the cycling industry as his contribution to the theme ‘Waking up the sailing industry – how sailing needs to modernise, diversify and develop to attract and retain participants’.
New MTN Conductor Mobile App
MTN Communications (MTN) is once again innovating in the yacht sector with the launch of its “MTN Conductor” mobile app. MTN designed Conductor specifically for customers using its MTN Maestro end-to-end communications and content management solution. The app seamlessly interacts with the Maestro platform so, from a handheld device, electrical technical officers (ETOs) and captains can proactively monitor every aspect of a yacht’s onboard communications. It helps view, align, control and optimize bandwidth throughput and quality of service (QOS)-related factors affecting each end-user group.
