Brightree and Inmarsat, the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications, have signed an agreement for Brightree to join the fast-growing group of certified application providers to offer a dedicated application for Inmarsat’s Fleet Connect service.

Fleet Connect is a dedicated bandwidth service that provides connectivity independent of the ship owners’ primary bandwidth, allowing Application Providers to have an always-on, or on-demand, two-way communication channel to the vessel.

Brightree will use Fleet Connect to offer their Marine Bunker & Fuel Consumption Monitoring application and Remote Engine Monitoring services.

Brightree’s application with a state-of-the-art Coriolis mass flowmeter, to accurately measure marine engine fuel consumption and bunkering transfer, and their Dandelion cloud-based remote controller transmits real-time consumption data over Fleet Connect, to assist and achieve fuel efficiency.

Remote Engine Monitoring is performed via its Dandelion service to the engine’s electronic digital interface, transmitting data in real-time via the Fleet Connect dedicated bandwidth. This creates a data repository, allowing for performance trend analysis to be achieved, and sent either on a fixed interval or on-demand from the on-shore office. A mismatch in fuel consumption data with engine parameters indicates an abnormal condition or lower engine efficiency, and alerts can be sent using SMS or email. This provides better maintenance scheduling of engines at a lower cost. Brightree also aims to use existing onboard equipment as much as possible to also reduce initial CAPEX.

“It is a privilege to be working with Inmarsat. We have been seeking a reliable and cost-effective IoT data satellite solution for some time. Fleet Connect is a dedicated bandwidth for IoT data, which comes with high reliability of connectivity and competitive pricing. This is the IoT satellite communication solution that Brightree has been seeking for a long time,” said Kevin Peng, Managing Director at Brightree.

“We are delighted to be working with an innovative start-up such as Brightree,” said Marco Cristoforo Camporeale, Head of Digital Solutions, Inmarsat Maritime.

“The Brightree application gives our customers a transparent and easy way to monitor their engine and fuel efficiency, helping to support the IMO’s target to reduce the industry’s CO2 emissions by at least 40% by 2030,” says Mr Camporeale.

The goal of the collaboration is to digitalise the process of marine fleet management. With engine and fuel consumption data collected in real-time, optimization and predictive maintenance can be achieved, reducing downtime and maintenance costs.