Page 33: of Marine News Magazine (June 2022)

32 34

Feature

Comms

KVH isn’t operating optimally compared can detect individual RF sources, and to others in the ? eet. Looking ahead, thus can even detect handheld radios

IoT applications will move connectiv- onboard dark vessels.” ity to the next level. Another developing topic is IMO’s efforts, in May, to ? nalize changes to

Outer space the global maritime distress system,

GTMaritime predicts that these modernizing and expanding system new demands will increase the load capabilities, particularly with refer- on communications systems. How- ence to satellites. Also upcoming: a ever, they further predict that this June meeting of the Sub-Committee new monitoring and tracking will on Safety of Navigation, Communica- reduce energy costs to such a degree tion and Search and Rescue (NCSR).

that the level of fuel savings is likely In commenting about the future, to cover the extra cost of communi- Jones cautioned that cybersecurity cations “many times over and at the issues should be at the forefront of same time allow capacity for further communication planning. She said changes such as assisted maintenance that system users can get careless while

KVH’s TracPhone system offers or remote operation.” hackers get increasingly sophisticated. unlimited data, vessel tracking and a dedicated voice channel. It

Therese Jones is senior director of “I have heard of users not changing includes an advanced network-level policy for the Satellite Industry As- the default passwords of their termi- ? rewall to assess and mitigate risks.

sociation, based in Washington, DC. nals, for instance,” she added.

She said that new satellite commu- nications services are continuously coming online. Technology is edging towards a world of 5G and IoT mari- time applications, Jones said. “These services,” she added, “may allow for autonomous vessels, and connected

IoT sensors may be used for differ- ent applications from fuel sensors to monitoring emissions, or real-time performance evaluation of vessels.”

Jones referenced planned studies to consider new maritime satellite ser- vice allocations “to enable a new VHF

Data Exchange System satellite com- ponent.” She said that new remote sensing applications are emerging, and she referenced “synthetic aperture radar (which) can be used to detect dark vessels at sea, monitor ice ? ows in the Arctic/Antarctic, and see through clouds even during hurricanes. Radio

Frequency (RF) mapping from space 33 www.marinelink.com MN |