• SES FlexMaritime will provide De Boer Marine with global multi-orbit satellite and terrestrial connectivity for its maritime customers
  • De Boer Marine will combine that network access with installation, integration and management of satellite systems onboard vessels

The fact

SES and De Boer Marine said on 1 September that they had expanded their partnership through a multi-year agreement covering SES FlexMaritime services. SES will provide global multi-orbit satellite and terrestrial connectivity for De Boer Marine's maritime customers. De Boer Marine, a Netherlands-based marine technology and connectivity provider, will handle installation, integration and management of satellite systems onboard vessels.

The agreement extends an existing relationship between the companies. De Boer Marine already provides maritime connectivity using satellite and terrestrial technologies alongside onboard IT and technical support. SES and De Boer Marine did not disclose the number of vessels covered by the new agreement, committed bandwidth, customer names or a deployment timetable.

The assessment

Multi-orbit connectivity gives ships more ways to stay online, but it also adds equipment and network management onboard. Terminals have to be installed correctly, different connections have to work together, and faults still need to be dealt with while a vessel is at sea. De Boer Marine will handle that part of the service for its customers.

For shipowners, this could make satellite connectivity easier to run. Instead of dealing separately with network capacity, onboard equipment and technical support, they can use one provider to manage the connection from installation onwards. The agreement does not yet show how well that model will scale, because SES and De Boer Marine have not disclosed fleet numbers, bandwidth commitments or service performance.

For BTW readers, the value of the partnership will depend on what happens onboard vessels, not simply on access to more satellite capacity. Fleet deployments and service results will show whether the combined offer makes multi-orbit connectivity simpler to operate across different routes.

What to watch

Watch for named shipping customers, vessel numbers and new terminal installations under the agreement. Details on bandwidth commitments, service levels or rollout schedules would show the scale of the deployment. Evidence that the same service model is being used across several fleets would indicate that the partnership is moving beyond individual vessel installations.