Marine telematics is on the move

As the world’s connectivity grows, the role of telematics is increasing exponentially. Marine telematics systems encompass a satellite antenna, a communication link with the vessel’s electronic components and a user interface and provide precise information about a vessel’s position, mileage, speed, fuel consumption, engine oil pressure, coolant temperature, equipment functioning, operation hours in various work modes and other requisites, thereby improving work efficiency and productivity. They offer a wide range of real-time alerts, driver behaviour, anti-theft notifications and safety alerts.

Data from Allied Market Research shows that the global marine telematics market is on a huge growth trajectory. It is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 21.3% over the period 2019-2026. The sector is being driven by factors such as the integration of real-time fleet monitoring systems in marine, the growing use of cloud technologies for marine operations and improvement in vehicle tracking and fuel management in the transportation industry. Furthermore, the rise in marine transport all over the world, the growing trend of connectivity solutions, the integration of automation in marine transport and a spike in demand for vessel safety and security aid in the growth of the market. The Asia-Pacific region is a top contributor to the growth of the marine telematics industry due to the high number of container ships and the growing demand for improved operational safety.

Several companies in the marine telematics market are taking steps to expand their businesses through various strategies such as partnerships, launches and more. In February, BoatFix, a provider of boat maintenance and tracking services, unveiled a fleet management program called Boat Fix Fleet Manager Pro for boat rental companies, boat clubs and charter companies. In April 2022, Orbcomm, a leader in industrial IoT and M2M solutions announced that Hapag-Lloyd, a German international shipping and container transport company, opted for Orbcomm’s telematics solution to offer end-to-end visibility for their extensive fleet of dry marine containers.

In the same month and year, MiX Telematics, a software as a service (SaaS) provider of fleet management, driver safety and vehicle tracking solutions, inked a partnership with CANGO Mobility, a telematics company that manages transportation and vehicle safety, to deliver advanced vehicle data experience. In September 2021, Honda Marine, a US-based manufacturer of four-stroke outboard marine engines unveiled the company’s smartphone app called HondaLink Marine. The app provides boat owners with monitoring capability for boats anytime from anywhere. In September 2020, Ericsson, a Swedish telecommunication company entered a partnership with U-Ming Marine Transport, a Taiwan-based firm that deals with the transportation of bulk cargo, to digitise it fleet management via intelligent IoT connectivity.

BoatFix introduces fleet management program

Boat Fix’s Boat Fix Fleet Manager Pro is a program for managing a fleet that caters to boat rental, club and charter operators. The benefits offered by Boat Fix Fleet Manager Pro are precise GPS tracking with playback functionality for use in case of an incident, advanced geofencing to prevent theft and entry into denied zones, continuous business support, most recent fleet management reports, and an onboard strobe light to alert the user and generate an action should there be an entry into a prohibited zone or delayed return. The Boat Fix telematics device exchanges information via 4G.

Hapag-Lloyd opts for Orbcomm’s telematics solution

Hapag-Lloyd chose Orbcomm’s newest telematics technology to provide complete visibility of their fleet of dry marine containers. The German company is the first in the industry to implement Orbcomm’s IoT technology to bring efficiency to operations. The telematics technology is in line with Hapag-Lloyd’s needs for future- proofing technology and agrees with certified-safe maritime industry standards. With enhanced battery life, intelligent solar power management, wireless sensor support and innovative telematics capabilities, the device makes for a great tracking solution for dry containers. The device also comes with Orbcomm’s SIM, which offers a cost- effective LTE coverage and supports various wireless sensors via Bluetooth 5. It sends the location and status data of the container to the Hapag-Lloyd LIVE platform over a cellular network and provides Hapag-Lloyd with a clear view of their shipments to enable them to make smart and informed decisions about their operations.

MiX Telematics’ partnership with CANGO Mobility

The partnership with CANGO Mobility enables MiX Telematics to enhance its fleet management solutions by the implementation of CANGO’s comprehensive rich vehicle data CANbus Library. It helps MiX unleash the capability of fleet vehicles’ raw data through extensive analytics and fleet optimisation SaaS tools. According to Puiu Dumitru, CEO of CANGO, they are grateful that their experience and expertise related to CANbus and vehicle data processing is highly valued by a leading global provider of fleet and mobile assets solutions.

Honda Marine launches HondaLink Marine

HondaLink Marine is a user-friendly smartphone application developed by Honda Marine that enables boat owners to remotely monitor and get ownership information about their boats from any place at any time. The company is the first marine outboard company to provide its boat management app, which is compatible and with any boat size fuelled by National Marine Electronics Association 2000 certified engines. The most important feature of HondaLink Marine is a telematics control unit (TCU) and optional sensors installed onboard, which enables the boat to connect wirelessly to the cloud over a cellular network. The TCU helps gather telemetry information such as position, speed and engine-related information, interacting with data systems and control buses on the boat. Thus, the app offers users an enhanced boating experience due to greater safety, comfort, convenience and connectivity.

U-MING partners with Ericsson for fleet management

U-Ming Marine Transport and Ericsson entered into a collaboration deal for connected vessel and voyage optimisation solutions. The partnership enables the former to gather real-time information on vessel location and movement and monitor vessel speed by using the latter’s Maritime ICT Cloud capabilities and optimise fuel consumption. The delivery of real-time data allows clear visibility from vessel to shore and supports process automation. This enables U-Ming to minimise costs and enhance efficiencies both for itself as well as for its customers. Under the terms of the deal, Ericsson also offers Connected Vessel capability that enables ship-to-shore VoIP and email communications for personnel on board vessels, thus elevating their communication system.

Sharmistha Bose is a specialist content writer at Allied Market Research (www.alliedanalytics.com)