An Abu Dhabi-headquartered ports and vessel owning group has commenced installing low Earth orbit (LEO) hardware across its global fleet and terminals
Abu Dhabi’s AD Ports Group has started deploying hardware for communications with low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites across its global fleet and terminal operations.
It anticipates LEOsatellite services will deliver real-time data, resilient and always-on connectivity and smarter operations across ports and vessels, with expectations for generating new efficiencies and fuel savings.
Installations started in September 2025 after AD Ports signed agreements with two global LEO satellite service providers.
Although these were unnamed, the only three LEO constellations with global reach currently operating are SpaceX’s Starlink, Iridium and Eutelsat OneWeb, with others still in development.
“LEO satellite connectivity serves as the digital backbone that unlocks the full potential of our technology ecosystem,” said AD Ports group chief information officer Mohamed Jamal-Eddine.
“With high-speed, low-latency communications, we can deploy advanced AI applications for predictive maintenance, dynamic route optimisation and automated cargo tracking in real-time.”
This LEO deployment is being phased over the coming months across the group’s fleet of 270 vessels that include container ships with more than 140,000 TEU combined capacity, plus dry bulk carriers, tankers, roro ships and transshipment services.
