The Helikon newbuildings are due both due to complete sea trials by mid-September for delivery in early October.
Two units of Inmarsat Fleet Xpress terminals were delivered to Helikon Shipping Enterprises by Globecomm, a provider of maritime connectivity services. The vessels are both due to complete sea trials by mid-September for delivery in early October, and marks the first commission of Fleet Xpress by Globecomm.
These two units were commissioned in Globecomm’s Biddinghuizen facility and then delivered to the Tsuneishi Heavy Industries Cebu shipyard in the Philippines, where the ships are under construction.
President of Globecomm Maritime, Malcolm McMaster stated, “Globecomm is very proud to have commissioned Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress service. Helikon has long recognized the value of communications to its business and the strength of the long relationship between our companies has been reinforced as they adopt Inmarsat Fleet Xpress.”
Helikon operates a fleet of 10 Supramax bulk carriers trading world-wide. The newbuildings are both ‘TESS 58 Aero’, an efficient design featuring a number of innovative fuel saving features, including aerodynamic optimization with low drag hatch coamings and accommodation block.
Helikon Principal Michael Papaioannou said, “The ability to be reliably connected to the Internet when at sea, for both business and crew communications, with redundancy built-in is a strong benefit of Fleet Xpress. Being able to combine that level of connectivity with unlimited data usage at a fixed price means Helikon will be able to leverage better communications as a competitive edge.”
Fleet Xpress is a new global service from Inmarsat, combining the high speeds of Ka-band with unlimited L-band back-up for continuous connectivity, designed to provide high quality voice and data services across the world’s oceans.
Globecomm Maritime has more than 30 years experience of meeting the connectivity needs of shipowners and mariners and services over 4,000 ships.