Wagenborg Puts Connectivity and Cybersecurity Onto 160 Ships at Once

Royal Wagenborg has selected De Boer Marine for a multiyear, phased rollout of onboard connectivity, IT and cybersecurity across its fleet, covering around 160 owned and managed general cargo vessels.

The scope is deliberately broad. The agreement covers onboard IT and network infrastructure, navigation and communication equipment, connectivity, system upgrades, installations, cybersecurity and the LinQontrol tool used to monitor and visualise onboard communication data. Rather than procuring each element separately per ship, the operator is treating the whole stack as fleet infrastructure.

Connectivity will combine Starlink, OneWeb, Ku-band VSAT, Iridium Certus and 5G to support vessels operating worldwide, alongside upgrades to onboard network hardware and remote support systems. The security side includes firewalling, intrusion prevention, web filtering, endpoint management and secure remote access. De Boer Marine is ISO 27001-certified, which underpins the information security requirements attached to the rollout.

Theo Klimp, fleet director at Royal Wagenborg Shipping, placed the decision within the company's wider strategy. "Digitalisation is an important enabler of our strategy to provide reliable, safe and sustainable maritime services," he said, describing the need for technology partners who understand both the opportunities and the complexities of the business, and citing an integrated approach covering connectivity, IT infrastructure, cybersecurity and user support.

Meindert-Jan de Boer, chief executive of De Boer Marine, described the programme as a substantial one that brings connectivity, IT and cybersecurity together in a single approach.

The commercial logic follows the operational one. As ships become more connected, onboard IT, communications and cybersecurity move closer to the centre of day-to-day vessel operations, and reliable crew internet has become part of the retention picture as well as the technical one. For a fleet of this size working short-sea and worldwide tramp trades, standardising the onboard environment across 160 hulls is what makes remote support and consistent security policy achievable at all.