Irish company Blue Ocean Wireless has launched the first GSM network for merchant maritime vessels. Blue Ocean, a joint venture between Claret Capital and technology company Altobridge is launching the service in conjunction with Inmarsat, which operates a satellite communications network. The service will use the Inmarsat network to enable crew on maritime merchant vessels to make and take voice calls, and send and receive texts on their own mobile phone, using a Blue Ocean Wireless SIM card instead of their regular SIM. When the ship nears a terrestrial GSM network, the Blue Ocean network automatically cuts out.
Inmarsat has offered crew-calling facilities to crew on merchant ships since 2000, but under the existing system, the crew has to use the ships Inmarsat equipment. Typically, this is located on the bridge, so there is no privacy, and calls can only be made when the satcomms kit is not needed for other tasks, such as browsing the Internet for weather and shipping reports.
Inmarsat says the equipment needed to provide the service will cost many thousands of dollars to install, but that shipping companies will receive payback in terms of crew retention, which is a big uissue for merchant shiipping operators. There are around 1.2 million seafarers in total, crewing 40,000 merchant vessels, with crew members typically at sea for 75% of the year. 75% of merchant seamen are Philipino. ARPU figures for seafarers are high, at around $130 (66) per month, with officers spending around $190 per month. Voice calls on the Blue Ocean GSM network will cost $1.25 per minute, with texts charged at $0.75 each.
Crew-calling is a great initiative, but there are barriers, in terms of access, billing, and the perceived cost of the service says Inmarsat Director of Maritime Services, Robert Johnson. Before the launch of this service, it was unheard of for a crew member to receive an incoming call on a social basis on a ship.
In trials conducted on board two vessels, 93% of SIM cards issued were used, with crew members spending an average of $65 per month, 87% of which was on text messaging.
Blue Ocean says it also intends to develop the network to offer remote container tracking. It says that of a total of $1 trillion worth of cargo shipped in reefers (chilled containers) in 2005, 3% was lost.