TIM eMagazine Vol . 3 Issue 3
Inmarsat receives IMO approval to deliver most significant advance in maritime safety in a generation
Credits : inmarsat . com
T he International Maritime Organization ’ s ( IMO ) Maritime Safety Committee ( MSC ) has formally approved Inmarsat ’ s ‘ Fleet Safety ’ solution as a new service to support the Global Maritime Distress & Safety System ( GMDSS ).
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 . Tens of thousands of vessels are already equipped with FleetBroadband or Fleet One , making the adoption of Fleet Safety simple and hassle free . 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 ’ builds on Inmarsat ’ s 40-years of maritime safety heritage , which has helped save the lives of thousands of seafarers . 160,000 vessels worldwide already use the Inmarsat-C stand-alone safety service , which is provided at no charge by Inmarsat .
The new service 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 .
“ Fleet Safety is the most significant advance in maritime safety services since the introduction of GMDSS in 1999 ,” said Ronald Spithout , President , Inmarsat Maritime , “ and restates our commitment to maintaining and improving safety services for the maritime industry .”
The IMO also approved the introduction of a GMDSS service by Iridium on its network , subject to Iridium passing a number of stringent performance tests . The Iridium GMDSS solution is consequently expected to be made available in the early 2020s . The IMO further approved the request of BeiDou Navigation Satellite System ( BDS ), a Chinese satellite navigation system , for evaluation of its GMDSS proposal by the IMO ’ s Navigation , Communications and Search and Rescue ( NCSR ) sub-committee .
“ I would like to congratulate Iridium on achieving approval from the IMO to take their GMDSS proposals to the next stage ,” said Ronald Spithout , President of Inmarsat Maritime , “ and also congratulate BeiDou Navigation Satellite System on their successful request for GMDSS evaluation by the NCSR sub-committee . We look forward to welcoming them both as GMDSS service providers in the coming years .
“ Together , we must strive to maintain and enhance the exceptionally high standards required by the IMO and demanded by the maritime industry as the lifeline for seafarers at sea .” inmarsat . com
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