Historically, the equipping of seagoing vessels with communications capabilities has been, first and foremost, about safety. Without a doubt, maritime safety remains a high priority, as a range of statutes requires most ships to have some onboard communication.

For fishing companies and operators of the more than 84,000 large commercial fishing vessels trawling the open seas, however, access to high-quality connectivity on the water has become a vital necessity for a wide range of priorities that most certainly include but also transcend safety.

Commercial fishing companies today operate in a fiercely competitive, tightly regulated, and price-sensitive market. As they navigate the realities of their industry, owners of fleets of all sizes share common frustrations and face many of the same challenges, including:

• Unexpected mechanical issues that lead to the grounding of a vessel at port and delays that cost time and money
• Reliance on manual and outdated processes for logging catch reports leads to unintended errors and problems with regulators.
• Low crew morale resulting from the combination of long hours of work under challenging conditions and limited communications with friends and loved ones back home

With access to connectivity at sea, fishing operators can not only address and combat these challenges but also leverage a wide range of advanced applications and digital solutions to improve operations, ensure regulatory compliance, and elevate the quality of crew communications.

Today’s data-driven applications purpose-built for commercial fleets enable owners and crews to:

• Deliver electronic catch documentation to observe control quotas as well as sell catch in real-time
• Conduct remote diagnostics from onshore locations to spot potential issues that might threaten the availability of a vessel
• Acquire precise, up-to-the-minute weather information that can inform routes and keep crews out of harm’s way
• Access tools for fish-finding, route planning, and fuel consumption monitoring to help fleets find the catch with greater success and at a lower cost
• Provide for the crew onboard the connectivity needed for web browsing, messaging, and video chatting with an experience comparable to what they are accustomed to at home

Without the presence of always-available high-speed broadband connectivity, the solutions are simply unavailable while at sea. From the most advanced route optimization app to basic email and web browsing and everything in between, connectivity is the lifeblood needed to transform any fishing boat into a modern, connected, highly efficient fishing vessel and provide fleet owners with a significant competitive advantage.

Today, advanced satellite networks deliver the connectivity fleet owners require and crave. Intelsat’s FlexMaritime has been specifically designed to enhance fishing operations, ensure regulatory compliance, and boost crew welfare via its global network of high-throughput satellites, delivering uninterrupted broadband connectivity even within the most densely congested fishing routes.

Download our latest solution brief to learn how to transform your commercial fishing business with FlexMaritime.