Marine Atlantic Inc. selected Imtech Marine Canada to replace its ship-to-shore wireless communications system. A federal Crown Corporation, Marine Atlantic Inc. operates four of the largest ferries in North America and sails between the Provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia on a daily basis.
Imtech Marine, through its service and navigation/communication brand Radio Holland, provided a completely integrated system consisting of all the necessary hardware, VSAT terminals, and backup broadband satellite facilities.
“When we began the RFP process, one of our key objectives was to not only find a service provider but a business partner; a company we felt could support our existing vessel communication needs, also providing strategic advice and input as we continue to modernize many of our business processes across the fleet,” said Colin Tibbo, CIO of Marine Atlantic Inc. “Our service needs will continue to evolve as we work to strengthen onboard services to both customers and crew, and we will continue to look to Imtech/Radio Holland for its expertise to ensure we have the systems in place to support our business.” Henk van Heuveln, Area Manager at Imtech Marine Canada, commented: “The Imtech Marine Managed Solution ensures that Marine Atlantic has 100 per cent coverage – from dock to dock.”
Marine Atlantic’s private VSAT Network is completely adaptable; if one ship makes a longer trip, it is easy to provide more bandwidth to this particular vessel. Additionally, the new system ensures that the Point of Sale terminals on board (debit/credit card machines) are reliable, and are always available for customers.
Imtech Marine/Radio Holland worked very closely with Marine Atlantic’s IT/IM Department and pre-engineered the complete system in its Halifax office before delivery, which meant that it was possible to install the systems while the vessels carried out regular operations, and for that reason, installation took place in just three weeks.