Miles Jamison
Iridium Communications, a mobile satellite communications company, officially launched the Iridium Certus Global Maritime Distress and Safety System, or GMDSS, on Aug. 3.
The company said Tuesday Iridium Certus GMDSS will work to integrate distress alert, safety voice, maritime safety information, long-range identification and tracking and ship security alert system features into a single terminal. The maritime communication system will work to support safety services worldwide, including in the polar regions.
Iridium CEO Matt Desch, a 10-time Wash100 Award winner, said, “When we introduced Iridium GMDSS a few years ago, we broke a long-standing monopoly, bringing much-needed innovation to this life-saving service. But we didn’t stop there. We wanted to make the most powerful and efficient GMDSS-capable solution ever, and by getting all this functionality into one terminal, we’ve once again raised the bar we set with our first GMDSS solution.”
Wouter Deknopper, vice president of maritime at Iridium, added, “This new and comprehensive solution consolidates and simplifies maritime communications while enhancing safety, meeting compliance requirements and supporting continuous business operations.”
