Jan De Nul switches fleet to VSAT, Iridium connectivity

Jan De Nul vessels migrated to new services include the offshore heavy lift vessel Les Alizés

The Jan De Nul Group has signed a long-term contract with Netherlands-based satellite communications specialist Castor Marine to provide global VSAT internet and Iridium L-Band services to its entire fleet of almost 80 dredges, offshore construction vessels, crane vessels and (environmental) support vessels.

As all the vessels in the Jan De Nul fleet are operational around the globe, Castor Marine was challenged to migrate vessels remotely to its network using the existing equipment onboard the ships within a tight deadline. Castor Marine successfully migrated 98% of the fleet within three months after contract signing, completing up to six migrations a day.

Castor Marine is delivering a tailored VSAT solution for Jan De Nul’s fleet, with the quality of services specified on the customer’s VLAN level. The Jan De Nul fleet benefits from the flexibility Castor Marine can provide in its global VSAT network allowing Jan De Nul Group to easily scale up, based on the ad hoc, dedicated high bandwidth demands per vessel.

Included in the internet package are high-quality onboard voice services based on local Belgian telephone numbers for the vessels, which allows cost efficient phone calls at local rates.

Along with the VSAT, Iridium and VoIP services, Castor Marine delivered 15 new Sailor 900 VSAT antennas and Sailor 4300 Iridium Certus antennas replacing existing hardware onboard. For the newbuild nextgen offshore jack-up installation vessel Voltaire and the offshore heavy lift vessel Les Alizés, Castor Marine supplied a complete new set of antenna systems based on the recently launched Sailor 1000 XTR VSAT antennas, including below deck equipment.

“It is nice to work with an agile and technically advanced partner. Flexibility is very important to Jan De Nul to cater for temporary project upgrades and downgrades,” said Nils Crabeel, communicationd manager at Jan De Nul Group. “Castor Marine monitors these developments and communication lines are very short. We attach great importance to mutual trust. So far, everything is going as desired with our new Ku & L-Band supplier.”

“It’s an honor to serve the Jan De Nul fleet with our services as network operator,” said Mark Olthuis, director maritime offshore & energy at Castor Marine. “I’m proud that we can deliver our flexible airtime solutions with high bandwidth capabilities to Jan De Nul on a global scale and that we can match the expectations of Jan De Nul with respect to high quality, flexibility and service levels.”