KOTUG Commits to Fleet Express

Posted by Michelle Howard July 30, 2019

RT Kuri Bay - one of the three vessels used by KOTUG to serve the Shell Prelude facility (Photo courtesy of Inmarsat)

Successful trials of Inmarsat Fleet Xpress off Western Australia have persuaded global tug operator KOTUG International to select the high-speed broadband solution for this area of the Asia Pacific region.

Following trials on board the 100-ton bollard pull tug Roebuck Bay, the towage service company has confirmed that the unique Fleet Xpress combination of Ka-band, continuously backed up by FleetBroadband, has significantly enhanced both the stability of communications and available uptime.

KOTUG will now phase in Fleet Xpress connectivity to cover towage services supporting Shell’s Prelude floating LNG platform via a flexible plan agreement that includes ‘Confirmed and Maximum Information Rates’ for data transfer and crew connectivity. The package also incorporates a comprehensive onboard movie/sports/news content entertainment package.

KOTUG Corporate IT Manager Hans Boele examined requirements and assessed feedback on the trials over a six-month period. He says that the long-term company commitment to Western Australia demands a lasting connectivity solution that is “future proof and scalable”.

KOTUG uses its own antennas and smart boxes on board, while its business critical decisions are supported by IT tools that manage the business from its headquarters in the Netherlands. Inmarsat’s Mr Panken says that another compelling driver for transition to Fleet Xpress has been that it is achievable within its existing vessel management architecture.