LONDON, February 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Inmarsat (LSE:ISAT.L) and its distribution partner AND Group have announced a new deal to provide Inmarsat FleetBroadband and AND's IPSignature2 value-added communications software  to the vessels of Singapore-based Thome Ship Management.

Thome Ship Management is a world leader in integrated ship management services for the international shipping and offshore industries.  Under the new framework agreement, AND Group becomes the exclusive communications provider to Thome for Inmarsat FleetBroadband and will deliver the FleetBroadband service through a combination of pricing packages, including the Very Large Allowance (VLA) package.  The terminals will be mostly FB500s, capable of supporting up to 432kbps of standard IP data communications, but also some smaller FB250s.

"We looked at the range of options for connecting our fleet and selected FleetBroadband from Inmarsat and AND Group because of its scalability," said Ryan Dalgado, Procurement & Supply Chain Manager for Thome Ship Management.  "This new deal provides plans for heavy users within our fleet and smaller packages for less intensive use. It gives us options for all vessel types, and with a large and diverse fleet like ours, that level of flexibility was very attractive.  We liked the fact that the experience and reliability of the FleetBroadband service was consistently good. The addition of AND's IPSignature2 service, offering simple and effective cost control tools, made it a powerful proposition."

IPSignature2 from AND Group is a leading combined data communications package for ship-based email, internet access and other data applications, allowing unparalleled analysis and control of the usage and cost of data movements to and from vessel or land-based terminals. Developed to be fully compatible with Inmarsat services, IPSignature2 enhances services by increasing network efficiencies as well as supporting cost savings with intelligent data transfer technologies.

Mary Baey, CEO of AND IPSignature (Singapore) Pte Ltd, said: "We are extremely honoured to be selected as the exclusive service provider of Inmarsat FleetBroadband  services for Thome Ship Management. We believe our appointment will allow Thome Ship Management to streamline their communications and benefit from the synergy of Inmarsat and AND Group services deployed across the fleet."

"Thome is a well-respected ship management company in Asia Pacific, and indeed globally, and this is a significant deal," said Frank Coles, President, Inmarsat Maritime.  "It also demonstrates that, by working together and combining the service quality and reliability of Inmarsat with the value-added services of our partners, we can deliver a very attractive package to the global shipping community."

About Thome Group

Thome Group, which presently manages a diverse fleet in excess of 180 vessels, is one of the world's leading third-party ship management companies. Established in Singapore since 1976, award-winning Thome Group has been a pioneer in promoting and maintaining global ship management standards and benchmarks for the shipping industry for nearly 35 years.  In recent years the group has grown to provide a range of services which now include ship management, crew management, crew agency, new building and technical consultancy, ship conversion project management, offshore vessel and structure management, ship lay-up maintenance and reactivation, ship inspections, voyage repairs and ship agency. It is now one of the world's leading independent managers with around 150 vessels, mainly tankers, under full technical management. In Singapore the group's activities span four main operating divisions - Thome Ship Management, Thome Offshore Management, Thome Oil & Gas, Thome Marine Consultants and Thome Agency Services. For more information about the Thome Group, please go to: http://www.thome.com.sg

About Inmarsat

Inmarsat plc is the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services.  Since 1979, Inmarsat has been providing reliable voice and high-speed data communications to governments, enterprises and other organizations, with a range of services that can be used on land, at sea or in the air.  Inmarsat employs around 1,500 staff in more than 40 locations around the world, with a presence in the major ports and centres of commerce on every continent. For the year ended 31st December 2010, Inmarsat plc had total revenue of US$1,171.6 million (2009: US$1,038.1 million) and an EBITDA of US$696.1 million (2009: US$594.2 million).  Inmarsat is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:ISAT.L). For more information, please visit http://www.inmarsat.com.

About AND Group plc

AND Group plc is a leading independent provider of global satellite services to customers who require high reliability in extreme or remote conditions. Our end users include merchant and military vessels, offshore platforms, and remote land based users in the mining and government sectors. Founded in 1974 the company has offices in the UK, Greece, Singapore and Brazil providing vital voice, data and IP based communications on a global basis.  The company is the chosen provider of mission critical satellite communications to some of the world's major shipping companies. AND Group plc is committed to providing the best value solutions to suit customer needs, and offers a full range of proprietary value added services to enhance customer experience along with always-available global customer support. http://www.and-group.net

SOURCE Inmarsat plc