In September 2023, Starlink was installed on board Almi Navigator during her drydock and after a trial period it was decided to go forward with installation for the entire fleet. The installation was completed within 2 months aboard the remaining 12 fleet vessels, the last vessel being Almi Voyager.
Starlink Maritime, an Elon Musk-led venture under SpaceX with approximately 3,300 low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites currently circling the planet at around 550 kilometers, presents a groundbreaking departure from traditional VSAT systems. Starlink delivers high-speed, low-latency internet both in-motion and while anchored. The on board Starlink connection will complement the company’s existing VSAT networks which encompass Fleet Xpress connectivity.
Almi Tankers IT Manager, Theofilos Vetsikas commented: “Crew welfare is one of our company’s priorities, and we always seek new ways and technologies that will improve our seafarers’ stay on board and make them feel more comfortable. We started this journey in 2016 with the Installation of ‘Fleet Xpress’ and we continue now with the installation of Starlink. Starlink will provide high quality internet connectivity to our people on board, similar to terrestrial speed. Communication with families and beloved persons will be much easier, streaming services will be available online as well as other online services. Apart from our seafarers’ satisfaction, we are going to use the bandwidth capabilities that the Starlink system provides for the better monitoring of our vessels and the improvement of other services already in place (Electronic Charts & E-NP updates, File Synchronisation etc.) as well as our IT infrastructure support.”