[290612.EN.SEA] Anti-piracy Satellite System Launched With Refined Remote Tracking

ARIZONA-based Applied Satellite Engineering (ASE) and Australia's Beam Communications have launched a new range of anti-piracy systems to be used with its Iridium or Inmarsat satellite products.

Its citadel, or "safe room", provides iridium voice communication and GPS reporting and can e installed anywhere on the ship. It uses ASE Comcenter Outdoor Solution in a discreet enclosure such as the ship's funnel to meet antenna distance problems, reports Digital Ship.

An additional phone can be installed on the bridge from the same system, said a statement from ASE. The benefits of the remote polling allows shipowners to know its vessel's position at set time intervals particularly when under attack and the Automatic Identification System (AIS) is turned off to avoid attack.

ASE operations head Ken Coffey said its citadel takes the reporting burden off crews during stressful situations such as a pirate attack. "Crews today are bogged down with so many reporting responsibilities. Enabling a shipping office to pull coordinates whenever they need them, helps make operations more efficient, cuts costs and improve crew safety."

Australian competitor, Beam Communications, has launched two new anti-piracy products to provide uninterrupted communication during pirate attack of the PotsDock Extreme Covert Piracy Solution and the Beam Covert Antenna System using Iridium and Inmarsat networks respectively.

The PotsDock provides an Iridium Extreme satellite handset and a Beam Covert Antenna system for use in a safe room or citadel. The Inmarsat-based system operates with the Inmarsat FleetPhone service, integrated into Beam's new Oceana 800 Covert Piracy Solution. Again, the phone is to be placed within a citadel, and connected to a Beam-designed antenna intended for covert placement.

The system ensures that essential communications on board the ship, such as the ability to alert authorities in the event of attack, can be maintained even if all power or communication equipment has been cut off or destroyed by attackers.

Its Oceana 800 Piracy Solution operates with the Inmarsat FleetPhone service and offers some reassurance to captains and crews facing the threat of piracy, said Immarsat chief Peter Blackhurst. "As with maritime safety, communications during a piracy situation can be a lifeline," he added.

Source : HKSG.