MTN (News - Alert) Satellite Communications (MTN), a provider of communications, connectivity and content services to remote locations globally, announced it will enter a service agreement with Intership Navigation Co. Ltd (ISN), a Cyprus-based ship-owning company that is a member of the Hartmann Group and also undertakes third-party management for a small number of European and Asian owners.

The maritime VSAT solutions and global satellite communications network of MTN provide an “always on, always available” reliability to more than 600 vessels and land-based terminals worldwide, including commercial ships, offshore drilling and production sites, cruise ships, government and military vessels, private yachts, and ferries that rely upon company’s voice and data networks to let them stay in touch with the world.

MTN also offers a number of premium services such as remote access for Internet, fixed and mobile phones, fax, television, onboard newspapers, banking services, direct payroll deposit for crew, and other enterprise solutions.

At the New Century Shipyard in Jing Jiang, China, 177,000 deadweight ton ships are being built. Out of them, the first one, DHL Pacific was delivered in August while the second, Percival will be delivered by the end of the year. Both the ships are going to serve as training vessels, able to accommodate up to 12 nautical students and a training officer in addition to their standard crew complement.

DHL Pacific also features a secondary training bridge that is separate from the ship’s navigation bridge, and is equipped with a latest simulator for watch-keeping instruction. Apart from the practical hands-on training, an online education program from Magellan Academy of Shipping & Transport or ‘MAST,’ a web-based academy offering e-learning courses for nautical and technical seagoing staff will be helpful to the nautical students and cadets.

In the words of Pawel Bury, IT managerat Intership Navigation, MTN’s VSAT services are critical to the e-learning program, giving ISN’s instructors and students unlimited access to this unique online training platform while at sea. Bury continued that using the MTN satellite connection, the students can participate in chat rooms and online forums to seek advice from career coaches at the company’s shore training center in Manila. The connection also permits the shipboard training officers to access and check e-learning results of students via the shore-based MAST administration software and provide assistance as needed, Bury added. Satlink Maritime Services Ltd., the sales and service channel partner of MTN in Cyprus, supervised the process of installation.

In September, MTN announced it would introduce a new product, named StreamXcel Plus. The new offering is a new integrated hardware and software solution for managing shipboard satellite communications, and has been designed to provide a suite of tools permitting vessel owners to perfect their ship’s satellite voice and data traffic.