Page 78: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 1996)

Grappling With Information Technology Challenges mation. Such infrastructure pro- jects can also underpin IMO com- pliance requirements.

Nera Telecommunications, based in Surrey, England, has taken up the infrastructure challenge with a combination of communications products and services that combine to provide a complete end-to-end network. The international back- bone of the network is the SITA airline network, used for the first time for marine applications.

NeraMail is a global e-mail strat- egy built around industry standard interfaces; and partner Nera

Hypership is a particularly com- prehensive ship/shore module, addressing optimization of trans- mission, connectivity with shore- based systems and network man- agement, and also facilitating client choice of e-mail software.

The NeraMail infrastructure is coupled with the traditional Nera

Operations and Network manage- ment facilities including Airtime

Management.

Another example of a communi- cations enabled application is

California-based WNI Ocean- routes' onboard ocean routing sys- tem. Using weather and oceano- graphic data updated daily via ship/shore satellite communica- tions, masters are placed in the best possible positions for charting courses. Orion requires approxi- mately 100,000 characters of data per day to be sent to the vessel, but has a massive payback in crew, vessel and cargo safety, as well as provides the significant cost sav- ings associated with reduced sail- ing times.

The Satellite Modem Company,

Norfolk, U.K., has reportedly, in conjunction with Inmarsat, resolved problems associated with fax communications via Inmarsat

M. The SMC M24 pocket modem/software package is the only one to date to pass field and simulator testing. A SMC B96 package for use with Inmarsat B is planned for release later this year.

IT Marches On

In the views of some, the respon- sibility for implementing IT strate- gy and infrastructure rests firmly with senior management. In gen- eral, the computer and communi- cations industry provides only the pieces from which individual orga- nizations must build their own strategic pictures. Some IT compa- nies have embraced a more strate- gic position directly reflective of maritime goals.

A current and crucial legislative case for IT is the ISM Code, which requires shipowners and ship man- agers to enact infrastructure sys- tems capable of facilitating compli- ance with safety regulations. This clearly presents a management opportunity for laying the ground- work for IT strategy and infra- structure. ok For The latest "IT" solutions for the maritime industry in

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