31 May 2017: Inmarsat has reached an agreement with Wallem Group, one of the largest and most experienced ship management companies in the industry, establishing the phase-in of Fleet Xpress as its favoured connectivity choice for ships at sea.

Already contracted for over 10,000 vessels since it was launched just over one year ago with a rapidly increasing share of the VSAT market, Fleet Xpress delivers high-speed broadband to the maritime market through a unique combination of Ka-band backed up by the mobility and reliability of FleetBroadband using Inmarsat’s L-band capabilities. This guarantees global bandwidth while enabling owners and operators to improve business intelligence, and enhance vessel performance and crew welfare.

“Major ship owning and management companies are progressively switching to Fleet Xpress, but the Wallem reference is a milestone for the service,” says Gerbrand Schalkwijk, Chief Sales Officer, Inmarsat Maritime. In addition to its extensive fleet holdings and ship management commitments that include bulkers, tankers and container vessels, Wallem oversees a pool of 8,000 qualified seafarers worldwide.

Quality solutions

David Price, Managing Director of Wallem Ship Management, said: “With a strong reputation in the industry for providing quality maritime solutions, we are committed to evolving our services to meet the needs of ship owners both today and in the future.

“In the first instance, we choose communications technology based on its reliability and speed, but we also see the transition to Fleet Xpress as offering a gateway to greater operational efficiency and crew welfare.

“Wallem offers a breadth of technical, commercial, procurement, crewing and safety services that bring special insight into the efficiency, sustainability and crew welfare benefits available from Fleet Xpress. We also offer procurement services separately to owners with and without ships under our technical management, demonstrating how highly valued our judgement is by others in the industry.”