By Richard White, Global Commercial Director, GTMaritime
When I joined GTMaritime in September 2022, the growing prevalence and massive potential of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite networks was already a major topic of discussion in the maritime community. Eighteen months later, the subject has come to dominate connectivity conversations in the shipping space.
Earlier in my career, vessels were all-but closed networks, with short emails representing the limit of modernity in terms of ship to shore communications. Now, we have the bandwidth to transfer data in volumes that were previously unimaginable. IoT-connected devices, real-time CCTV, and video calling are increasingly common features on vessels today – with benefits resulting for efficiency, safety, and crew welfare.
Increasingly, LEO has played a significant role in this evolution.
Nevertheless, despite the evident gains, caution is also needed: with ships more connected to the outside world than ever before, they are also more vulnerable to cyber threats.
LEO like a fast car – it needs suitable brakes
No longer closed networks, ships which take advantage of bandwidth to support the ‘floating office’ approach to…
