Singapore-based shipping company Pacific International Lines (PIL) is setting up satellite communication, or VSAT, on its entire fleet as an effort to advance digitalization in the maritime sector.

Communications technology firm Singtel has reported that it is one of the partners providing PIL with communications and cybersecurity solutions for 33 vessels in PIL’s fleet.

“As a progressive company, PIL is constantly looking for ways to achieve business excellence and optimize operational efficiency. With a fleet of around 100 vessels and over 4,000 seafarers, we recognize the benefits that digitalization brings. With the reliable VSAT service, we can further digitalize our ship management practices, such as implementing predictive maintenance of machinery onboard our ships. This is done through the transmission of data from ship to shore for real-time data analysis to monitor machinery performance, predict failures and recommend maintenance windows,” mentioned Goh Chung Hun, General Manager, Fleet Division, PIL.

“In addition, the welfare of our seafarers is of utmost importance to us, and having robust internet connection onboard our vessels allows our crew members to stay connected with their family members while they are at sea. We believe this contributes greatly towards the wellbeing of our seafarers.”

Comprising AgilePlans by KVH VSAT services and TracPhone V7-HTS, Singtel’s VSAT bundled solution provides global coverage which would support PIL’s demanding trade routes by offering stable and secure connectivity throughout different voyages, enabling the ship captain and crew members to focus on other high priority tasks.

Singtel’s package comes with two VSAT channels – the High-Speed Channel and the Unlimited Channel (Truly Global and HTS Satellite). The High-Speed Channel (10Mbps/3Mbps) is responsible for enabling operational use by PIL, while the Unlimited Channel (2Mbps/512kbps) caters for the more data demanding cybersecurity applications and communication solutions, centred to improve crew welfare such as crew VoIP and crew data allocation.