Maritime technology specialist MARIS and Orange Business Services have joined forces to deliver Electronic Chart Display Information Systems (ECDIS) and maritime digital services directly to navigators.
Through the solution Current At Sea, the partnership unlocks the potential of integrated, paperless maritime navigation and vessel operations management by basing it on the most up-to-date digital chart information available.
Orange Business Services manages a network with connectivity to more than 3,400 Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSAT) deployed on land in 104 countries and onboard vessels at sea, as well as via FleetBroadband, a maritime voice and broadband data service from Inmarsat. The Orange Business Services network connects vessels at sea to a range of corporate communications solutions including enterprise-grade voice, IP Telephony, network optimisation, M2M and video conferencing.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set a timetable that requires all vessels to be fitted with ECDIS by 2018, with the legislation already applying to all newly-built ships. Current At Sea – comprising of Orange Business Services VSAT service and MARIS ECDIS - gives navigators an efficient way to meet this requirement before the deadline.
According to the companies, Current At Sea is the first and only VSAT system/dual ECDIS offering with a fixed monthly rate, meaning that customers pay only a fixed monthly fee with no usage charges on voice or data. The new offering also integrates the MARIS Voyage Decision Support (VDS) which pinpoints weather and current data to determine the safe, most cost/time effective voyage routes and has demonstrated fuel savings of 4%-8%.
Steinar Gundersen, Deputy Chief Executive MARIS, says: “The combination of MARIS ECDIS and Orange VSAT technology creates a powerful tool in compliance with IMO ECDIS regulatory requirements that delivers voyage optimisation, greatly increased safety and major cost savings in an attractive ‘pay-per-month’ package. No capital outlay is needed and the system pays for itself through choice of faster voyage routes and lower fuel usage.”
The Orange Business Services Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)-based network allows ships to bypass the public Internet when accessing corporate systems and connect using a secure, real-time connection to business-critical applications.
