Image: Petredec

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) transport group Petredec is extending its Fleet Xpress service agreement with Inmarsat. This expanded deal involves a new commitment to Inmarsat’s Fleet Hotspot internet portal service, which has been designed by Inmarsat to give crew onboard access to high-speed connectivity while using their own devices.

Petredec is a longstanding Inmarsat customer, and it recently renewed its Fleet Xpress service agreement across 27 operational ships and extended it to 10 new builds. Part of the renewal saw the Singapore-based owner commit for the first time to Inmarsat’s fully managed Fleet Care maintenance, repair, and support service, and the Fleet Data IoT platform for data collection, transfer, storage, and analysis.

Petredec is fast-tracking the adoption of the crew portal fleet-wide, replacing a previous crew connectivity service based on subscription. On completion, all 37 owned Petredec ships will be equipped with Fleet Hotspot, supported by the dual Fleet Xpress antennas on board.

“The powerful moral case for ensuring crews can stay in touch with friends, family, and the outside world has been laid bare during COVID-19, but there is also a direct link between crew happiness and retention of the best crews. It’s a link that results in safer operations onboard multi-million dollar assets, greater vessel efficiency, and business competitiveness,” Neil Giles, fleet technical manager of Petredec said in a statement.