Marlink Installs VSAT For Entire Kuwait Oil Tanker Company Fleet In Just Three Months

New VSAT antennas and L-band back-up systems installed on 26 tankers to improve operational and crew welfare communications

Oslo, 14 Oct 2015 – Marlink has completed the roll-out of VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) connectivity across the entire Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC) fleet of 26 tankers, during a three month project started in March 2015. The final vessel, Mutriba, was completed and fully online by mid-June 2015. Marlink was awarded the contract to deliver VSAT to KOTC’s fleet in January 2015.

Founded in April 1957, KOTC today is mainly involved in the ownership and management of tankers engaged in the transport of crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gases (LPG). In addition, it also operates a Marine Agency Branch, acting as sole agent of all tankers calling at Kuwait’s sea port and a Gas Branch for the filling and distribution of LPG cylinders for local industry and domestic consumption.

With easier and more cost-effective access to data and voice communication through Marlink’s Sealink VSAT services, KOTC now is able to enhance its global logistics operations, i.e. by improving arrival and departure estimates and securing the safety of vessels, cargo and crew.

A key driver for KOTC moving to VSAT was improving its on board operational communications facilities, but the established Middle East tanker firm will also make more bandwidth available for crew. The increased bandwidth enables KOTC to operate more efficiently and make greater use of video streaming for on board TV, in addition to working smarter through collaboration, e.g. using high quality video conferencing facilities.

“Marlink’s experience in large-scale VSAT installation projects has supported us to upgrade our on board communication facilities quickly and efficiently,” said Mr. Bader Al Otaibi – Manager, Fleet Engineering Group, KOTC. “All vessels are now fully operational on the VSAT network with positive effect on our business critical communication in addition to being able to provide crew with enhanced facilities to access the Internet and stay in touch with friends and family.”

“Strong pre-planning and logistics in addition to great cooperation with KOTC ensured that all vessels where ready for our engineers, which helped us to achieve such a fast and efficient turnaround,” said Roger J. Harfouch, Regional Director in Middle East, Marlink. “The project schedule amounts to approximately one new KOTC vessel installed every three days. This was made possible through teamwork and adherence to ISO standards, meaning only established processes and documentation were used throughout. Our strong presence in the Middle East based on local knowledge, hardware stock and engineering resources was also an important factor in our ability to deliver on time.”

Marlink’s VSAT solution for KOTC vessels features three Virtual Local Area Networks (VLAN), unlimited L-band backup and automatic switching between carriers. Bandwidth provided is in the range of Committed Information Rate (CIR) 128/128kbs to 512/512kbps, with temporary upgrades up to CIR 1Mbps also available on request, for bandwidth-heavy applications such as video conferencing. Most of the vessels started with CIR 256/128kbps.

For further information, please contact:
Knut Natvig, Marlink
T: +47 48 030 911