Marlink has renewed a contract with adventure and expedition cruise operator Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.
Marlink will provide its Sealink services on Hapag-Lloyd’s fleet of four cruise vessels, plus two newbuildings, which are due to enter service next year.
Sealink services provide global connectivity for secure on board shipmanagement, enabling seamless internet access for passengers and crew and providing carrier services for on board GSM services for passenger voice, SMS and data connectivity.
The company recently added new satellites and overlapping Ku-band beams to the Sealink network.
Marlink’s well established partnership with Hapag-Lloyd Cruises spans more than a decade, with ‘Europa’ being the first cruise vessel in the fleet to deploy Sealink connectivity services, in September, 2004. She was followed by ‘Bremen’ in August, 2006, ‘Hanseatic’ in May, 2007 and ‘Europa 2’ in April, 2013.
‘Hanseatic’ is due to leave the fleet in October, 2018, but three new cruise vessels, ‘HANSEATIC nature’, ‘HANSEATIC inspiration’ and ‘HANSEATIC spirit’, are currently under construction and are due to be delivered from a Norwegian shipyard in April, 2019, October, 2019 and 2021, respectively.
Marlink’s solution for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises is based on a dual on board VSAT system to supply redundancy and increase operational availability, which is further enhanced by multiple backup services, which optimise available bandwidth in the most remote areas.
Marlink’s VSAT network coverage from Canada’s east coast to the western tip of Alaska, has been facilitated by the recent addition of a new satellite.
“We are excited to be in a position where we can continue our mutually beneficial relationship with Hapag-Lloyd Cruises into the future,” said Tore Morten Olsen, President Maritime, Marlink. “The fact that our Sealink services have been selected for the company’s two new flagship cruise vessels corroborates the long-standing reliability and impeccable standard of service that Hapag-Lloyd Cruises have justifiably come to expect from Marlink.”
