Maersk and Starlink Ink Deal for Satellite Internet on Ships

In a bid to tackle blind spots in communications coverage, Maersk has agreed a deal to install Starlink’s satellite internet on its ships. 

Starlink High-Speed Connectivity on Container Vessels

Maersk is one of the world’s biggest companies in the shipping industry. A pilot phase where 30 of the ships used the internet has ended, and the company will now equip all of its 300+ container ships with the SpaceX product.

This pilot phase was almost universally positive, and the Starlink services offered speeds exceeding 200 Mbps, improving operations as well as providing benefits for the crew.

Leonardo Sonzio, Head of Fleet Management and Technology at A.P. Moller – Maersk, spoke about the agreement:

“We are excited to announce our journey with Starlink to provide state-of-the-art connectivity to our sea going colleagues. The high speed connectivity will enable our seagoing colleagues to stay connected with their loved ones while at sea. It will also propel the expansion of seamless cloud solutions, enabling our vision to digitalise our vessel operations.”

Allowing seafarers to enjoy more luxuries such as movies and video calls will help their personal experience, but the most important functionality offered by satellite internet is constant connectivity allowing uninterrupted contact with shoreside support.

Maersk will also be moving business critical applications to the cloud to support their inspections and support, and Starlink will help to make this possible.

The company is one of many embracing high-speed internet at sea, and it is expected that these changes will be rolled out in the first quarter of 2024. The news follows Hapag-Lloyd’s plans to add Starlink technology to its fleet, also in 2024, plus Anglo-Eastern, a ship manager in Hong Kong, will add the same technology to its 200 managed ships.