Nairobi, January, Wed. 25, 2011- Ericsson Limited has been appointed by world’s largest shipping company, Maersk Line, to provide end-to-end systems integration and deployment of mobile and satellite communication to its entire vessel fleet.
According to Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson, the company will fit Ericsson’s antennas and GSM base stations to Mersk Line’s 400 container vessels out of 500 with upgrades to be made to the remaining vessels soon after:
“We’re proud to be able to connect Maersk Line’s fleet with our technology. We believe in a Networked Society, where connectivity will only be the starting point for new ways of innovating, collaborating and socializing. The result will be automated and simplified processes, higher productivity, real-time information allowing quicker, more informed decision making and problem solving.”
On the hand, Ericsson’s integrated maritime mobile and very-small-aperture terminal (VSAT) satellite solution will bring extended connectivity to the entire fleet, allowing for new ways of communicating and contributing to efficiency, reliability and cost reduction.
The system also paves the way for immediate access to remote expertise, resulting in extended access to information and, in turn, improved efficiency in the vessels’ daily operations.
As part of the agreement, Ericsson will provide seven years of global managed services support, including 24/7 network monitoring and onboard maintenance services in a large number of ports across all major regions.
For the shipping industry, Vestberg said mobile communication provides the opportunity to employ new and efficient ways of addressing fleet management, managing delivery times, improving interaction with vessels, enabling proactive issue resolution and prompt information sharing with customers and even improving energy efficiency.
Until now, Maersk Line’s high-tech modern container ships have been equipped with satellite connectivity primarily intended to support communication for vital shipboard functions:
“We’re quite pleased to be the first fleet to be connected with mobile communication technology. We believe it would provide us good opportunities to run our fleet more efficiently.” said Søren Toft, Vice President Maersk Line Operations.
