Seaspan Rolls-out KVH VSAT Across Fleet

Manufacturer of mobile satellite communications KVH Industries informed that the container shipping giant Seaspan  completed the implementation of KVH mini-VSAT Broadband connectivity for all 107 managed vessels in its global container ship fleet.

Seaspan selected KVH’s TracPhone V7-HTS/AgilePlans and KVH’s TracPhone V11-IP for the vessels.

“We chose KVH for the ability to have a superior end-to-end solution from one provider, which can be customized as per our business requirements” says Rajesh Gopinathan, manager of process improvement for Seaspan.

Rajesh added: “KVH, working together with our IT department, were able to complete 60 installations in less than 12 months, which is an important factor for our global fleet.”

The TracPhone V7-HTS/AgilePlans service that Seaspan chose for a majority of vessels is a leading choice for commercial maritime operators.

The AgilePlans monthly subscription service includes antenna, airtime, content, and technical assistance—all for one fee, with free installation at select ports, and no contract term commitment or additional maintenance costs. A 60 cm Ku-band VSAT antenna, the TracPhone V7-HTS delivers data speeds up to 10 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload.

A unique feature of the TracPhone V7-HTS is its dual data configuration, providing both a high-speed data channel and an unlimited-use data channel, said the release.

For Seaspan, the unlimited-use data channel was a contributing factor in their decision to choose the TracPhone V7-HTS, for it enables their vessels to support both operations and crew Internet from a single system. The Seaspan vessels that installed the TracPhone V11-IP benefit from a 1 meter C/Ku-band antenna that provides global broadband connectivity from KVH’s mini-VSAT Broadband network.

To support business efficiency, the Seaspan vessels utilize KVH’s CommBox Network Manager, a suite of integrated tools including such features as unique networks for operations and crew; integrated email servers and firewalls; remote IT management; and least cost routing and bandwidth management.

Additional KVH value-added services for which Seaspan has subscribed include IP-MobileCast, a content delivery service that multicasts news, sports, entertainment, and operations content to the vessels.