[SatNews] Six deep-sea tugboats have received FleetBroadband communications capabilities.

Stratos Global is deploying the Inmarsat FleetBroadband satellite communications service on six deep-sea tugboats in Fairplay Towage’s fleet. Deployment on four of the vessels already has been completed. Based in Hamburg, Fairplay Towage is one of Europe’s leading tugboat operators in the ports of Hamburg, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Rostock, Wismar, Szczecin and Swinoujscie. Its fleet includes 27 modern vessels for harbor, coastal and deep-sea towage. The Fairplay Towage contract is the latest example of Stratos’ successful deployment of FleetBroadband on a wide range of vessel types across all major geographic regions. Stratos has activated more than 6,700 FleetBroadband terminals and was recognized as the Inmarsat Distribution Partner making the greatest contribution to FleetBroadband global sales growth in 2010. By ensuring reliable broadband connectivity at sea, FleetBroadband from Stratos will help Fairplay Towage achieve optimal vessel performance, improved business operations and increased crew productivity.

For Fairplay Towage, Stratos fully integrated FleetBroadband with AmosConnect 8 – Stratos’ sophisticated maritime communications application – to improve management of all interoffice communications. Fairplay Towage also improves crew welfare by deploying Stratos’ AmosConnect Crew CommCenter. The solution enables personnel at sea to stay in contact with home via calling, private email and SMS at affordable, flat global rates. The solution’s high functionality helps retain qualified seafarers. The application features an easily manageable, separate account for each crewmember. Fairplay Towage expects to deploy the Internet café functionality of the latest version of AmosConnect Crew CommCenter later this year.