After winning a 3-year contract for more than 80 vessels to VSAT, Iridium and VoIP in 2021, Castor Marine’s connectivity contract has now been renewed by Jan De Nul Group and includes a roll-out of Starlink to most Jan De Nul Group vessels. The experts in marine construction, civil engineering and environmental projects have expressed their continued satisfaction about and need for solid vessel connectivity on a global scale.
With the addition of Starlink, the Castor Marine provided hybrid LEO GEO service is a leap forward in terms of internet speed and latency, bringing significant benefits in terms of both crew welfare and business operations for Jan De Nul Group. The installation and service contract not only comprises the VSAT, Starlink, Iridium and VoIP, but also the necessary hardware and 24/7 support services for the globally active fleet.
Nils Crabeel, Vessel Communication Manager at Jan De Nul Group, says: “In the past three years we’ve seen that Castor Marine delivers on its promises, which is important in building mutual trust and, of course, in daily practice where Jan De Nul regularly needs temporary project upgrades and downgrades on its vessels. We are happy with their support services. From the support desk to installation works, Castor Marine’s account management is one of short lines of communications, flexible and fast response times.”
Tailored solutions
Castor Marine delivers tailored connectivity solutions, with quality of services specified in detail, right down to Jan De Nul Group’s VLAN level requirements. In the past three years, the fleet has experienced Castor Marine’s operational and commercial flexibility in providing its global VSAT network. This makes scaling up easy – a useful feat, as each single vessel can have ad hoc, dedicated high bandwidth demands on short notice. Mark Olthuis, Director Maritime Offshore & Energy at Castor Marine, says: “We are thankful for Jan De Nul’s continued trust. As a VSAT Network Operator and Authorized Starlink Reseller, we are proud that our flexible, high-bandwidth airtime solutions match the expectations of the Jan De Nul Group and its fleet and “Castor Marine is committed to providing the best possible mix of LEO and GEO connectivity services to Jan de Nul by anticipating new technologies coming available.”
