We recently reported how Shipping Containers are Falling Overboard at The Fastest Rate in Seven Years with 3000 boxes dropped into the sea last year.
The reasons for the increasing losses are multiple:
- weather that is stormier and more unpredictable
- larger ships closer to full capacity with containers stacked higher
- pressure for ships to shorten journey times
- overworked and exhausted crews making mistakes.
However, it seems that the industry is little concerned with small losses with Supply Chain Dive, which covers freight and shipping, reporting that “Ocean Carriers have doubled orders for container ships this year as a result of their healthy bottoms lines and a lack of tonnage to meet strong demand”…
"619 container ships are now on order for future delivery. Of those, 381 have been ordered in 2021 alone and never has 3.44m TEU been ordered in such a short time span," according to BIMCO Analyst Peter Sand.”
However, these ships will take years to build and so will not solve the current supply chain congestion caused by COVID, port congestion, the Ever Given grounding in the Suez and increased spending by consumers. People are already being advised to stock up early for Christmas…
Smart Containers
We’ve previously written about how the grounding of the Ever Given will speed up the industry-wide rollout of Smart Containers which will “manage the entire shipment and delivery process of goods through connectivity, cloud computing traceability, monitoring, and smart sensors”.
According to last year’s report “Smart Container Market – Global Analysis and Forecast to 2027″ published by The Insight Partners, the global smart container market was valued at US$ 2.14 Bn in 2018 and is expected to reach US$ 11.29 Bn by 2027.
But reliable 24/7 connectivity which enables information sharing in real-time will be essential for the full benefits of smart containers to be felt.
Telecom26’s Maritime Connectivity Services
We are a maritime mobile operator and providing always-available voice and data connectivity for vessels of all shapes and sizes is one of Telecom26’s core services.
Whether it’s a ship travelling from China to Europe laden with containers, or a sunny Sunday on a yacht, our Global Roaming Service and “Near-to- Shore” Global SIM Service, are all that’s needed to stay connected.
These days most cellular communication networks can provide coverage up to 40km/25 miles out to sea (without a guaranteed QoS). As most vessels tend to spend their time in-port or hugging the coast, cellular can almost always be used for both voice and data.
At the end of last year, we launched a new data-only service - Near-To-Shore - which provides access to land-based cellular networks.
The response from the shipping industry has been phenomenal and we are now providing service to all type of vessels, from the most luxurious of yachts to fishing vessels to oil tankers, bulk carriers and container ships - with surging data volumes.
The size of the vehicles, their cargo and the number of seafarers might widely differ but they have a few things in common. They are tired of exorbitant roaming charges. Tired of having to change SIMs/switch phones when they crossed borders. Tired of patchy service. Tired of multiple bills from different providers.
Our Global SIMs provide a very simple way to provide data to all onboard devices via cellular data links. By onboard devices we mean Wi-Fi routers, container sensors, IoT networks and any system process that needs to connect to the internet, to a remote server or monitor.
Our SIMs can be inserted into any GSM (2G, 3G, 4G and future 5G) router, which we can also supply, as required.
Most importantly, only a single SIM is required – there is no need to swap SIMs when moving between different regions and countries.
Our SIMs can access any terrestrial network. Not all networks are equally available – some offer better coverage in some locations than others. And, every country has its own range of terrestrial network operators. This means that, as a vessel moves along the coast, different networks may be available.
Because Near-to-Shore SIMs can connect to any of these, coverage can be maintained. This applies as vessels cross international borders. So, as a container ship travels across Asia or a yacht moves from one Caribbean island to another, devices and routers can hop between different networks with ease – and will benefit from the bundle pricing we offer. This means there’s no need to worry about the hidden costs of global roaming.
Our new paper - Nearshore Services A short guide to nearshore cellular services - can be downloaded here.
And, if you’d like to discuss how our maritime connectivity and maritime cellular communications services can support ship to shore data services, as well as crew welfare while at sea through our cellular at sea solutions, then please get in touch.
