Commercial
Fishing
Vessels
Switch
to
Iridium
OpenPort(R)
for
Reliable,
Cost-Effective
Voice
and
Data
Communications
15
December
2009
Iridium
Communications
Inc.
reports
that
its
Iridium
OpenPort(R)
marine
satellite
system
is
winning
an
enthusiastic
reception
from
commercial
fishing
fleets
around
the
world.
One
specific
example
is
FV
Aart
Maaskant
(UK95),
which
was
one
of
the
first
Dutch
commercial
fishing
vessels
to
be
fitted
with
Iridium
OpenPort.
Gannexion
BV,
an
Iridium
service
partner,
installed
the
Iridium
high-bandwidth
terminal
to
replace
the
existing
satcom
system
on
the
42.36-meter
beam
trawler,
which
operates
in
the
North
Sea.
Jan
de
Boer,
the
vessel's
owner
and
captain,
said,
"Iridium
OpenPort
is
always
online.
It
sends
our
e-mails
faster
in
comparison
to
the
satcom
system
we
used
previously,
and
it
gives
us
the
possibility
to
download
the
latest
news
to
stay
up
to
date
with
what
is
happening
in
the
world."
"Iridium
OpenPort
equipment
cost
and
airtime
charges
are
substantially
lower
than
those
of
other
satcom
systems
we
considered,"
said
de
Boer.
The
crew
is
using
the
free
e-mail
service
offered
by
Gannexion
BV
to
send
and
receive
messages
at
sea.
The
e-mail
software
also
permits
them
to
access
Websites
to
download
information
on
an
adjustable
schedule.
"The
captain
sets
the
Iridium
OpenPort
terminal
to
automatically
receive
the
weather
forecast
twice
a
day,"
said
Patrick
Albers,
service
engineer,
Gannexion
BV.
"This
way
they
don't
need
an
extra
subscription
with
a
third
party
who
will
charge
them
for
sending
the
weather
forecast.
Iridium
OpenPort
will
also
be
an
ideal
solution
for
transmission
of
daily
catch
reports
to
meet
future
e-logbook
regulatory
requirements."
Samherji
HF,
a
major
Icelandic
seafood
company
with
vessels
operating
around
the
world,
has
installed
Iridium
OpenPort
on
two
of
its
trawlers
under
a
service
contract
with
Siminn
and
AST.
Samherji's
electronics
engineer,
Kristinn
Danielsson,
said,
"Iridium
OpenPort
provides
excellent
coverage
and
performance
even
when
we
are
fishing
in
Arctic
waters
that
are
not
reliably
served
by
other
satellite
services."
Siminn,
Iceland's
primary
telecoms
company,
installed
the
systems
on
the
Samherji
vessels.
"Iridium
OpenPort
provides
a
unique
value
proposition
for
commercial
fishing
operators,
with
three
independent
phone
circuits
and
a
separate
high-speed
data
port
that
can
be
provisioned
for
data
rates
from
9.6
to
128
kbps
with
IP-based
connectivity,"
said
Greg
Ewert,
executive
vice
president,
global
distribution
channels,
Iridium.
"All
of
the
phone
and
data
lines
can
be
used
simultaneously
without
interference.
Iridium's
cross-linked,
low-earth
orbit
satellite
network
provides
complete
global
coverage,
including
the
important
Arctic
and
Antarctic
fisheries,
which
are
not
reached
by
any
other
marine
satellite
service."
Ewert
noted
that
Iridium
OpenPort
has
been
approved
in
many
European
countries
to
meet
the
pending
EU
requirement
for
e-logbooks.
"The
three
separate
phone
lines
make
it
possible
for
several
crewmembers
to
call
their
families
and
friends
at
the
same
time
during
their
off-duty
hours
without
having
to
queue
for
a
single
satellite
phone,"
said
Gylfi
Mar
Jonsson,
product
manager
at
Siminn.
"The
Iridium
OpenPort
terminal
is
small
and
lightweight,
and
it
is
easy
for
one
person
to
install
the
antenna
without
using
a
crane.
There
are
no
moving
parts
in
the
antenna,
so
maintenance
costs
are
lower
than
other
satcom
systems
with
stabilized
dish
arrays."
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