Safety and security at sea are paramount. The deepwater horizon oil spill has highlighted the obligation of those entrusted with the handling of hazardous goods to comply with safety regulations. Some shipping captains are going further and are requiring that container systems storing hazardous goods be equipped with a satellite communication system.

Transport refrigeration specialist Klinge, located in York, Pennsylvania, offers a satellite communication system using the Iridium and Inmarsat satellite networks for their hazardous goods transport container systems.

The Iridium satellite network is a system of 66 active satellites used for worldwide voice and data communication from hand-held satellite phones and other transceiver units. The Iridium network is unique in that it covers the entire globe, including poles, oceans and airways.

The Inmarsat network has a fleet of 11 satellites providing mobile voice and data communications around the world. This enables users to make phone calls or connect to the internet on land, at sea or in the air.

Klinge’s satellite system is a two-way data communications service that uses compact equipment with integrated GPS, for data transfer, remote monitoring, tracking and tracing. The satellite communication system transfers ambient temperature, cargo temperature, running condition, alarm status, fuel level in running hours remaining, and power source in near real-time.

The ultimate protection

Henrik Klinge, president of Klinge says: “In recent weeks, we’ve had our container systems with satellite communication systems deployed to Antarctica, where the US antarctic program has been using them to transport invaluable ice cores home in pristine condition ready for study.

“With the use of our satellite communication system, we were able to provide our customer with near real-time temperature data, which was essential given the high value of the cargo. The ability of our satellite communication system to transfer data from the South Pole was a true testament to the reliability of the system,” adds the Klinge president.

Worldwide operations

Klinge transport refrigeration systems with satellite communication systems have been used by military forces, aerospace, chemical and pharmaceutical companies for nearly 30 years.

Klinge is the leading provider of specialized ISO refrigerated containers in the world. Klinge’s customized designs offer civilian and military customers robust alternatives to standard, mass-produced refrigerated containers which often cannot meet the requirements of harsh environments or stringent testing.

The company provides multi and single-temperature, redundant(primary and back-up refrigeration) and explosion-proof refrigerated container systems for military and commercial applications. Klinge also offers generator sets for back-up power in case of the loss of electricity during emergency situations.

Klinge Corporation manufacturing facilities and headquarters are located in York, Pennsylvania with offices in Egypt and Denmark.