Ferry Business - Autumn/Winter 2020

3 7 DATA Digital wins for the passenger sector Connectivity solutions need to be able to leverage huge quantities of data, both for operations and crew communications I nmarsat’s data solutions are increasingly being harnessed to support diverse aspects of vessel performance, such as how the captain is sailing the route, how the ship approaches the dock, or where acceleration occurs. Onboard software then offers advice on potential improvements. “Operations data coming from the machine itself (engines, bridge, etc.) helps us understand the health of a vessel,” says Marco Cristoforo Camporeale, Inmarsat’s head of maritime digital. “Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress platform is completely agnostic and provides an interface with the system onboard, without interrupting operations. We store data safely on behalf of the shipowner, offering a fully managed service in a completely secure, segregated environment, with no interaction onboard the vessel.” Inmarsat partners with Certified Application Providers (CAPs), helping operators exploit vessel data to improve operations, maintenance of machinery and more. “If we have the consent of a shipowner we can offer a window on this data,” says Camporeale. But an Inmarsat report revealed that 50 per cent of ship managers found it difficult to take data out of the vessel. Camporeale says: “This is where we see the key value of Inmarsat right now. We see ourselves as an enabler, a booster of digitalisation.” Using the company’s Fleet Data solution, shipowners can try out different applications without ever needing to bring the provider onboard. “There is no distraction, no proliferation of different IT gateways, and the data is safely stored,” says Camporeale. “In a few hours, the app provider is already able to show data. It’s an easy way of accelerating digitalisation. We are leveraging connectivity, getting shipowners closer to app providers. Both sides love not having to get people on and off the ship.” Inmarsat’s Fleet Connect solution allows original equipment manufacturers to offer customers service level agreements based on performance. “To do that, they need a continual stream of data from their machinery so they can perform analytics on its condition and undertake preventative diagnostics. This helps ensure that the ship or engine doesn’t have a computer breakdown. “Fleet Connect exploits one of the core capabilities of Fleet Xpress, using a dedicated separate bandwidth pipe. For example, if an engine maker wants the possibility to offer a service level agreement, a stream of data comes from the vessel with no disruption to operations. We also offer the opportunity for application providers to host their applications onboard the vessel, with a specific amount of storage.” CAP partners such as ABB and NAPA allow ship managers to explore completely new propositions. “We are selecting and curating the application providers we really want to push, looking beyond saving fuel to savings in the entire chain of operations.” CFR In the age of Covid-19, telemedicine can help re-establish ferry customer confidence T he experience of Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess stranded off Japan’s coast early in the Covid-19 pandemic sent shockwaves through the industry. Vessel operators and specialist healthcare providers are now adapting to entice passengers back. Vikand, a healthcare provider working with more than 200 cruise vessels, has wasted no time. It worked with Knud E Hansen on Phoenix World Village to develop a design for the most hygienic of ships. An air sanitisation system uses similar principles to Nasa spacecraft, and there are quarantine and isolation zones, as well as upgraded medical facilities. Vikand CEO Peter Hult believes the most straightforward way of re- establishing customer confidence is through telemedicine, based on easy-to- use apps and reliable satellite broadband. He says: “It’s true that early telemedicine solutions for ships in the 1990s and early 2000s were suitcase-sized, expensive, difficult to install and set-up, and complicated for crew to use in a medical emergency. The concept was sound, but the technology simply wasn’t ready for implementation. “But telemedicine has come of age with the arrival of ‘plug-and-play’ connectivity at sea and the emergence of smartphones to which medical sensors can be attached.” Vikand’s solution is embedded on Inmarsat’s servers through the satellite operator’s Certified Application Provider (CAP) programme. This means the link to shore-based medical professionals is always-on. Hult says: “The connection is seamless and always ready, which is crucial; the last thing crew want in a medical emergency is to waste valuable time trying to establish a remote connection.” Vikand is also taking advantage of the dedicated bandwidth available on Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress and FleetBroadband networks, for applications that cannot be constrained or interrupted by, say, passenger web- browsing or operational traffic. Hult adds that the pandemic struck shortly after Vikand became a CAP Partner. “We’ve supported crew and passengers on many ships in dire straits, whether at sea or in port – wherever they have been unable to get medical assistance or let people ashore.” Instant access is particularly relevant to ferries, where medical officers may have little hands-on experience of life-or-death situations. “We are ready to step in as an urgent care facilitator,” says Hult. For larger ferry operators, Vikand can help further by liaising with medical facilities at ports on regular routes, coordinating care until the patient can be transferred ashore. The company is already setting up facilities at major turnaround ports across Europe as part of the EU’s Healthy Gateway programme’s response to Covid-19. “Ferry operators and cruise lines rely heavily on reputation for repeat business,” says Hult. “In these times, the travelling public needs reassurance.” CFR Telemedicine reinvented MEDICAL SERV ICES “We see ourselves as an enabler, a booster of digitalisation” “We are ready to step in as an urgent care facilitator” Data can inform decisions on operational efficiency, weather routing, fuel consumption and more Vikand provides remote services so medical professionals can treat onboard guests and crew 3 6