Ice Navigation

Many modern vessels are capable of safely following routes through heavily iced waters and, given how quickly ice maps become outdated in the changing conditions of the arctic, many captains are satisfied that a straight-line direct path is appropriate. At KSAT we believe you can do better; the easiest, safest and most cost-efficient route through ice-filled waters is often not the most direct.

KSAT utilizes Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images to show detailed ice conditions around a ship, independent of weather and sunlight conditions. The information is delivered in efficient data packages which can be accessed even under restricted low-bandwidths conditions, such as over satellite phones. These images, as recent as 30 minutes, provides the captains with the very latest information on the sea ice condition of their surroundings and anticipate what lies ahead.

Studies in the Baltic Sea have estimated that using satellite data to navigate through sea ice can potentially reduce journey times by 20%, saving both time and fuel. When users are able to reroute around the most heavily iced areas they incur less hull damage and see savings in maintenance costs and dry dock repair time -- and their crews appreciate the quieter, smoother journey. Safer, quicker, cheaper; the optimal route trumps the direct route, and the near real-time information it requires is now available through KSAT’s ice navigation services.