Castor Marine has become the latest provider of Starlink connectivity in the maritime, offshore and superyacht markets, with its executives expecting this service to replace VSAT for remote communications
This Netherlands-based connectivity provider has become an authorised Starlink reseller to offer low-latency and high-speed internet to vessels supporting offshore oil, gas and renewables projects and merchant ships.
This comes through Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s Starlink’s growing low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation and specialised onboard terminals.
For Castor clients, Starlink will be available as part of an integrated service consisting of Ku-band VSAT, L-band services from Iridium and Inmarsat and 4G/5G services. Castor can now offer a software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN), a virtual service that connects and extends enterprise networks over large geographical distances enabling an automatic and dynamic switching service between Starlink, VSAT, L-band, 4G/5G and long-term evolution (LTE) services.
But Castor Marine chief executive Ivo Veldkamp expects Starlink to replace 4G/5G connectivity and VSAT on merchant marine and offshore vessels and superyachts.
Castor Marine has seen interest from offshore support vessel owners, superyacht and ship operators for Starlink’s LEO connectivity as part of an integrated network. In these markets, demand for broadband and internet connectivity is ahead of supply, but satellite communications capacity is now catching up.
Mr Veldkamp predicts “vessels currently relying on VSAT will add Starlink for their high bandwidth requirements, while keeping VSAT on board as a back-up and failover service.”
Starlink’s maritime hardware consists of two flat-panel antennas with a small footprint installed above deck and below-deck equipment.
“Our customers expect us to stay ahead of the curve and provide them with the best connectivity solution technically available in the market,” said Mr Veldkamp. “We foresee a shift in the market with customers switching from VSAT and 4G/5G connectivity to Starlink with VSAT as back-up.”
All Starlink systems can be monitored and managed remotely from a single digital portal, and there is end-to-end encryption for cyber security and ensuring safe data traffic and protecting confidential content.
“Starlink is a ground-breaking service, bringing a new level of connectivity at sea, accelerating automation and digitalisation for shipowners and improving internet experience for everybody on board,” said Castor Marine director Mark Olthuis.
“We received positive feedback from customers who are already using Starlink and see a big demand from both our established customer base and new customers.”
Starlink has already been added to Marlink, OmniAccess and Speedcast connectivity networks to provide high-speed, low-latency communications to maritime and offshore vessel markets.
