MOL adopts Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress for entire fleet

MOL had installed the majority of its car carrier fleet with Inmarsat’s high-speed broadband Fleet Xpress service in 2016, connecting over 100 car carriers with always available data and voice communication. Inmarsat’s service utilises Global Ka-band VSAT, with L-band back-up. The service will now be installed on MOL’s managed and owned fleet of bulk carriers, tankers and LNG carriers, as well as its remaining pure car carriers (PCC).

MOL said: “As satellite communications technology has grown dramatically over the past decade, we have adopted VSAT from an early stage, for email communication and sharing of images between ship to shore, and now we can also monitor equipment.”

Inmarsat has introduced a new Fleet Optimal Control Unified System (FOCUS) platform. In its initial stages, FOCUS will see detailed voyage and engine data gathered from 150 vessels and stored in the cloud, where it will be available to build sophisticated analysis tools for improving operational efficiency and propulsion performance.

The extension of connectivity is expected to support further digitalisation of MOL’s vessels, in line with MOL’s recent strategy to leverage the Internet of Things (IoT), along with advanced data analytics, to drive improvements in safety, efficiency and environmental impact.

Potential applications include remote engine performance monitoring and fault diagnostics, as well as ’digital twins’ to streamline vessel maintenance management.