KVH Introduces TracVision UHD7 for Ultra High-definition 4K TV Entertainment at Sea

31st October 201931st October 2019Phil Page

Maritime innovator KVH adds newest 60 cm satellite antenna to award-winning line of TV products

MIDDLETOWN, RI – October 30, 2019 – KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI), today introduced the TracVision^® UHD7, a high-performance 60 cm (24 inch) marine satellite TV antenna designed to provide boat owners, charter yacht guests, and commercial vessel crews with access to ultra high-definition (UHD) and 4K programming from DIRECTV^® as well as regular HD programming from other leading satellite TV providers. The system is on display at the Fort Lauderdale (FL) International Boat Show, October 30-November 3, in Booth 328.

Designed for ease of installation and use, TracVision UHD7 features two-cable installation, fast satellite acquisition speeds, and system control via the TracVision TV-Hub web interface or convenient TracVision app. For reliability in marine conditions, the antenna features multi-axis tracking and a rugged, lightweight design.

“The TracVision UHD7 builds on KVH’s 20-plus years of experience designing and delivering award-winning marine satellite TV products to bring boat owners the fantastic picture quality and favorite TV programming they want,” says Jim George, KVH’s senior director of global leisure sales. “The TracVision UHD7 is designed to make their time on the water even more enjoyable.”

KVH Ships 10,000th VSAT System for Global Maritime Connectivity

24th October 201925th October 2019Phil Page

Maritime VSAT market share leader’s unique value proposition provides a fully integrated communications solution for mariners

MIDDLETOWN, RI – October 24, 2019 – KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI), a leader in mobile connectivity, announced today that it has shipped its 10,000^th VSAT satellite communications system. This is the latest milestone for a company whose history of innovation in the maritime satellite communications industry began in 2007, when KVH introduced the TracPhone^® V7, the first maritime 60 cm VSAT terminal, and the mini-VSAT Broadband^sm service. Since that time, KVH has become the market share leader for maritime VSAT terminals (Source: Euroconsult, Prospects for Maritime SATCOM, 2019, market share VSAT units), and today KVH provides high-speed connectivity, voice service, IoT capabilities, and content to commercial vessels and leisure yachts around the world.

“We set out to make satellite communications reliable, cost effective, and more accessible to seafarers through innovations in technology, satellite services, and business models,” says Martin Kits van Heyningen, KVH chief executive officer. “The accelerating adoption of our TracPhone VSAT systems and connectivity delivered by our high-throughput satellite (HTS) network reflects the demand for the affordable airtime, fast data speeds, network security, IoT proactive monitoring, and value-added services that we deliver. The ability to offer a fully integrated solution, which we see as the KVH Advantage, is desirable both to leisure boaters who wish to remain connected to friends and family on shore as well as the commercial industry in which the connected ship is rapidly becoming a reality.”

Britannia Announces its New Chairman

24th October 201924th October 2019Phil Page

The Britannia Steam Ship Insurance Association Limited (Britannia) has announced that on 15 October, Nigel Palmer OBE retired as chairman of the Britannia Board and was succeeded by Tony Firmin.

Nigel started his career as a cadet with BP Tanker Co., where he rose to the rank of Master before taking on various corporate roles within BP prior to retiring in 2004. He then became a director on the Britannia Board before taking on the role of chairman in May 2008.

Tony joined Hapag-Lloyd in 1995, initially as Finance Director of Hapag-Lloyd America Inc., responsible for the USA, Canada and Latin America. His career with the transnational container shipping line culminated with his election in July 2014 to its Executive Board, serving as Chief Operating Officer until his retirement on 30 June 2019. Tony has been Britannia’s deputy-chairman since October 2016.

Commenting on the announcement, Mr Palmer said: “It has been my immense pleasure to have helped steer the world’s oldest P&I club over the past decade, where we have faced numerous challenges within the maritime industry on behalf of our Members”. Paying tribute to Mr Firmin, he added: “Tony brings his considerable maritime and financial experience that will help guide Britannia in the coming years as it continues its recent programme of regional expansion and tonnage growth whilst maintaining its financial strength.”

Thome Group Wins Excellence in Maritime Services/Ship Management

18th October 201918th October 2019Phil Page

The Thome Group is delighted to announce that it has won the award for Excellence in Maritime Services/ Ship Management at the Lloyd’s List Asia Pacific Awards ceremony at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore.

Reviewed by an independent panel of judges, the award recognised that the Thome Group had “demonstrated best ongoing commitment to the industry and had raised the standards of ship management and support in the region.”

The judges carefully considered a range of performance indicators including crew welfare, overall safety record, environmental initiatives, ship security, training, operational efficiency, cost control and a proven record of client satisfaction.

Accepting the award on behalf of the Thome Group was the company’s CEO Mr Olav Nortun who commented;

“Winning this award is the icing on the cake for all the dedication and hard work of our employees around the world. It is a great endorsement of our crew welfare programmes, training courses, environmental initiatives and cost efficiency drives to make sure our services offer the best value for money for our clients without compromising on safety. I would also like to sincerely thank our principals and close partners for their continued trust and close collaboration.”

He was also grateful for the hard work of the independent panel of judges and recognised the tough decisions they had to make in choosing the winners. He felt humbled in receiving the award among such a strong list of nominees.

Britannia returns more funds to Members and moves away from a General Increase

16th October 201916th October 2019Phil Page

The Britannia Steam Ship Insurance Association Limited declares a USD15 million capital distribution to its mutual Members

Highlights

Britannia remains in robust financial health, allowing a further capital distribution of USD15 million to be paid to P&I mutual Members
Going forward, Members’ renewals will be underwritten on their individual records, with Britannia moving away from the concept of a General Increase (GI) for both P&I and FD&D

Overview

In August 2019, S&P re-affirmed Britannia’s A (stable) rating with capital well above the AAA level and an ‘exceptional’ liquidity rating.

However, the 2018/19 policy year was challenging, with lower than projected investment returns and claims being higher than expected. Claims continue to be high, in particular those in excess of USD1 million. In addition, all insurers in the P&I sector have seen rates declining, with Britannia anticipating an underwriting deficit for the current policy year, with an expected combined ratio of 108%.

KVH Announces KVH Elite, Unlimited VSAT Streaming Service for Yachts

10th October 201925th October 2019Phil Page

Premium service features dedicated bandwidth to deliver unlimited HD-quality streaming onboard yachts

MIDDLETOWN, RI – October 9, 2019 – KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI), announced today that it is introducing KVH Elite, a premium unlimited VSAT streaming service delivering HD-quality, dedicated bandwidth to yachts in selected geographic regions. The new KVH Elite streaming service is launching in November 2019 from Florida through the Caribbean, including the islands of the eastern Caribbean, with the Mediterranean expected to follow in 2020. This service, which is part of KVH’s fully global mini-VSAT Broadband^SM HTS network, is designed for maximum coverage, maximum data speeds, and a premier user experience for simultaneous streaming.

KVH Elite enables users onboard to use their favorite apps for streaming popular HD movie and TV content, music, and more, on an unlimited basis in that there are no overages or data limits. The streaming service uses KVH’s award-winning VSAT antenna systems—the 60 cm diameter TracPhone^® V7-HTS and the 1 meter diameter TracPhone V11-HTS—and is designed for ease of use, with simple over-the-air activation that does not require any hardware changes to the antenna system or its belowdecks control unit. Yachts currently using the V7-HTS or V11-HTS are KVH Elite-ready for activation.

“The yachting market, particularly at the highest level, is seeing an incredible demand for VSAT connectivity,” says Mark Woodhead, KVH executive vice president for mobile connectivity. “When you are on a yacht, you expect to be able to stream movies and other entertainment content just like you do at home. Our new KVH Elite unlimited streaming service is one more example of how KVH’s premium VSAT connectivity can enhance the yachting experience.”

Britannia P&I: Added Strength In Singapore

3rd October 2019Phil Page

Britannia P&I’s Managers, Tindall Riley, adds four new colleagues to their Singapore team.

This expansion reinforces Britannia’s strategy of developing its regional hubs, bringing service closer to Members. TR(B) Singapore was established in September 2018 (taking over from the former exclusive correspondent of almost 20 years) and Britannia’s Singapore branch licence was granted in February of this year.

FRANCIS CHURCH, having moved moving from the Managers’ London office, joins as a regional underwriter.

DAPHNE CHUA, a 4 years PQE Singapore lawyer, joined the team in July to support P&I and FD&D service.

JACOB DAAMGARD, a dual qualified deck and engine room mariner, has also moved from the Managers in London to lead Britannia’s regional Loss Prevention activities.

KATHERINE LEE, a compliance expert, joins as Compliance Officer for the Singapore branch.

Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) strengthens South Asia presence with new office in Bangladesh

3rd October 2019Phil Page

MUMBAI, 01 October 2019 – Leading classification society, the Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass), recently celebrated the opening of its Bangladesh office with an inauguration event.

The event, held at Hotel Agrabad, was attended by members of the regional shipping fraternity including shipping companies, shipyards, ship recycling units, ship design companies, flag administration and various service suppliers. Representatives from the Indian High Commission were also present to grace the occasion. IRClass now has an office in Dhaka and representative office in Chittagong with both offices having qualified local surveyors to provide value added services to Bangladesh based clients.

In his opening address, Mr. Amit Bhatnagar, Senior Principal Surveyor & Vice President, IRClass, extolled the close relationship between classification societies and the industry. “IRClass will continue to work closely with the industry to help our clients develop practical and cost-effective solutions that meet their requirements”, said Mr. Bhatnagar. “We are excited to be a part of the vibrant maritime ecosystem in Bangladesh and we look forward to forging new relationships and renewing existing ones. We also look forward to working with ship recycling yards that have approached IRClass for certification under the Hong Kong Convention.”