Saudi Arabia is gearing up to be the world’s premier maritime hub. As demand for sustainable, cost-effective connectivity solutions soars, the maritime and logistics sectors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are expanding towards an impressive paradigm-shifting era of digitalisation.
This comes with economic diversification, policy reforms, and foreign direct investments over the next five years. Reflecting Saudi Arabia’s commitment to developing its maritime trade, expanding into new economic cities, and digitalising vessel operations, Saudi Arabia scored the highest regional progress in the Maritime Connectivity Index in 2021 and is ranked 20th globally in the maritime transport industry. In fact, its maritime sector has doubled in the past decade, with 53,000 ships operating within it that are registered in 150+ countries and carry 11 billion tonnes of cargo annually.
Being connected today is synonymous with staying competitive and future-ready. Vessels need to remain online to fully benefit from such digital transformation initiatives. Having one or two L-band lines as a fall-back option when VSAT is down has become commonplace. Yet, having a backup is no longer a guarantee of business continuity. As maritime operations digitalise at a fast pace, it is essential to make sure that chosen applications can remain operational in high and low-bandwidth environments. IEC Telecom offers a range of improved applications to provide a perfect user experience with less traffic.
A recent analysis by Accenture showed that a digitally reinvented vessel could reduce operating costs by up to 20% in five years while increasing revenue by up to 15%.
The availability of a digital infrastructure empowers the maritime industry to streamline its operations and remotely monitor, maintain, and secure its assets. Ship-to-shore communications have been permanently transformed with digitalisation,
Today, seafarers can easily collaborate with an extended team onshore without any interruption in the navigation schedule. Troubleshooting, crew training, and even health check-ups can now be carried out remotely via a wide range of specialised applications. As such, digitally-enabled operational measures allow vessels to avoid unnecessary detours and achieve 10-20% greater energy efficiency. Such state-of-the-art Satcom technology is aligned with the targets set by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for the shipping industry to reduce its carbon emissions by 40% by 2030.
