Inmarsat NexusWave diagram. Photo: Inmarsat Maritime

Japanese transport company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., known as “K’’ Line, will trial the new Inmarsat Maritime network service NexusWave on its fleet of ships. Implementation of the trails will start this month, Inmarsat, a Viasat company, said in an Oct. 24 release. 

Inmarsat debuted NexusWave in May as a managed service for maritime customers that integrates Global Xpress (GX) Ka-band, Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) services, coastal LTE service when it is available, and L-band for resilience. Inmarsat has a deal with Eutelsat OneWeb for LEO capacity. 

“K” Line is a global shipping operator with a fleet of more than 400 vessels worldwide. The company said that NexusWave will contribute to its digitalization initiatives including automated ship navigation and crew well being. 

Akihiro Fujimaru, managing executive officer of “K” LINE commented: “In recent years, there has been an increase in data transmission to enhance safety and quality. As such, we require connectivity services that are fast, reliable and global. … NexusWave promises to fulfill these needs well into the future.”