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Korea Line Corporation, a subsidiary of the SM Group in the shipping industry, is launching the ultra-fast satellite-based internet service ‘Starlink’. There is increasing anticipation that vessel operational data will be gathered and sent more efficiently, enabling smoother real-time communication between ships and land.

Korea Line Corporation announced on the 16th that it will introduce Starlink, a low Earth orbit satellite communication service provided by SpaceX, the space company owned by Elon Musk. This represents the first deployment and implementation of Starlink within the local shipping sector. Starlink will be implemented on 38 ships, including bulk carriers and LNG, or liquefied natural gas carriers. Previously, Korea Line Corporation entered into a service agreement with KT SAT, one of SpaceX’s authorized B2B resellers, in April of last year.

Starlink, a high-speed satellite internet service that utilizes more than 8,000 satellites positioned around 550 km above the Earth’s surface, launched its services in South Korea on the 4th of last month. It stands out due to its proximity to Earth compared to geostationary satellites, which are roughly 35,000 km from the ground, leading to quicker data transmission. This technology allows internet access in remote mountainous regions, at sea, and aboard airplanes. After Starlink was introduced in the country last month, five Hanjin Group airlines, including Korean Air, have announced plans to gradually introduce ultra-fast Wi-Fi on board using Starlink starting from the third quarter of this year.