First Triple LEO Network Established for Polar Cruise Ship
Digital network provider Marlink has completed the integration of internet services on Ponant’s Le Commandant Charcot to provide three LEO solutions for the ship’s polar itineraries.
The installation is the first in the maritime sector to combine Marlink’s Sealink GEO VSAT, with Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb and Iridium LEO services. The agreement with Ponant reflects Marlink’s ability to provide guaranteed throughput VSAT services with emerging high speed, low latency LEO services.
The combination of three primary services means that Ponant can select the backbone VSAT for data that requires a guaranteed throughput and in addition enjoy augmented polar coverage using Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb and Iridium LEO services. Together Starlink and Eutelsat OneWeb will enable higher speed connections across a range of applications, raising the available throughput and reducing latency for guests and crew usage onboard.
The bandwidth delivered by GEO VSAT, LEO networks and 4G/5G services will facilitate seamless collaboration between the ship’s bridge, engineering crew and shore teams, and enhance connectivity to friends and family, thanks to Marlink’s SD-WAN-orchestrated connectivity.
A hybrid electric polar exploration vessel powered by LNG, Le Commandant Charcot is the world’s only luxury icebreaking cruise ship. With 123 staterooms and luxury service, the vessel takes passengers to the remotest, most isolated regions of the polar world, such as the geographic North Pole, the Weddell Sea, the Ross Sea and Peter I Island. Ponant's fleet comprises 13 French-flagged small ships dedicated to voyages of exploration.