The Manila Express container ship. Photo: Hapag-Lloyd

Starlink has signed another key contract in the maritime arena as it looks to make traction in this vertical. Hapag-Lloyd will start to use Starlink’s satellite internet technology across its fleet. The company announced the deal on Thursday and sait it it comes after a successful pilot phase.

Since May, crewmembers aboard four pilot vessels have had the opportunity to test the Starlink technology. Hapag-Lloyd said the feedback from these trials had been very positive.

Hapag-Lloyd is a global liner shipping company, founded out of Germany, with around 258 vessels. It aims to ensure fast and reliable connections between more than 600 ports on all continents. The next steps for the rollout of the free and fast internet offer on board include completing the ordering of the technology and antenna installation by the end of 2023 and the stepwise activation of the service on the company’s ships, that is set to commence in early 2024.

“We are very happy to provide our seafarers with Starlink’s high-speed satellite internet and thus to enhance their well-being on board. But also for fleet management the change in communication and connectivity will be huge,” Maximilian Rothkopf, COO of Hapag-Lloyd, said in a statement.