At the 2005 Europort Maritime exhibition in Rotterdam this month, mobile satellite service provider MVS introduced a new ship tracking solution that uses the Iridium global satellite network for short-burst data communications.
The MVS Group is offering a new Iridium-based version of its Victoria Vessel Monitoring System, which provides real-time vessel monitoring and e-mail communications for ships at sea.
Subscribers can view the location and status of specified vessels at sea using a convenient Web-enabled user interface with built-in mapping. The system provides archiving of collected ship routing data for analysis.
The MVS Iridium vessel monitoring system has successfully completed proof-of-concept testing for long-range tracking and is expected to be ready for deployment in early 2006.
"Iridium's short-burst data service provides an extremely robust and reliable solution for globally tracking the locations and movements of vessels anywhere in the world," said Peter Liberi, vice president, international sales for the MVS Group.
"In addition, the shipboard terminals will provide very cost-effective two-way e-mail service and discounted crew calling between ship and shore."
"As an Iridium service provider, MVS is at the forefront of developing innovative new solutions for the world shipping industry," said Don Thoma, executive vice president of Iridium Satellite.
"This new service is a major stepping stone toward development of long-range identification and tracking systems to meet emerging international requirements."
