ISATM2M SATELLITE SERVICE TERMINATION

Pole Star Global (Pole Star), the recognized Application Service Provider (ASP) for use by Jamaican Ships, has advised that one of the communications satellites serving its LongRange Identification and Tracking (LRIT) System, will be decommissioned on December 31, 2020. This will adversely impact vessels served by that platform, which will at that time be in breach of the SOLAS Convention.

The decommissioning of the ORBCOMM (previously Skywave) Satellite, will mean that the legacy units associated with the ISATM2M Network, such as the DMR800 or DSAS MK1, will “go dark” after the 31st of December 2020 and will no longer operate when the vessel goes to the North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk, Philippine Sea, Coral Sea, Tasman Sea, and South Pacific Ocean (Inmarsat I3 Pacific Ocean Region). Migration to an active network will then be necessary for continued coverage.