Once upon a time a ship had to dock, or in any case reach a secure port, in order to fix a problem no matter how big it was. If the ship was at sea, a time had to be booked at a shipyard and the engine power might have to be lowered. In the future, it is not unrealistic to avoid a lot of the trouble.

Today, a ship sailing from Asia to Amsterdam does not necessarily have to wait until reaching land before a problem may be identified and fixed. Satellite communication is opening new opportunities when problems occur on ships, says Jan Kragh Michelsen, Sales Development Director, Global Maritime, at Cobham SATCOM, which is specialised within satellite communication e.g. at sea.