Addressing the Use of Personal Starlink Devices by Crew Members

Addressing the Use of Personal Starlink Devices by Crew Members

Thank you for your continuous support.

We would like to bring to your attention a situation we have foreseen:
multiple cases have been reported of crew members bringing and using their personal Starlink
devices aboard vessels.

Crew members are said to bring their own Starlink antennas on board
and set them up on the deck during off-duty hours for personal private use.

While it is difficult to completely refrain crews from using personal
Starlink onboard, leaving personal Starlink use unmanaged would
present several risks:

Crew members may share their personal Starlink connections,
creating an unmanaged, unauthorized network on vessels.
As this unmanaged network expands, personal Starlink devices
could have a high possibility of being connected to the ship’s LAN.
Unchecked malware downloaded via the personal Starlink network could
spread throughout the vessel’s entire network. These unmanaged risks
could lead to the formation of a “backdoor” within the managed network,
resulting in security issues and concerns.

To address this issue, we recommend establishing official guidelines
for the use of personal Starlink devices in your SMS documentation.
The following points are suggested to be included:

(1) Require crew members to report any personal Starlink device
     onboard for solid management.

(2) Implement usage regulations, such as:
*Limit personal Starlink for private use only.
*Prohibit connecting work PCs to personal Starlink networks.
*Ensure personal Starlink devices are not connected to the work network.
*Restrict the transfer of files from personal PC/device to the work network.

It has also been observed that vessels without an established Crew Internet
tend to see more crew members bringing personal communication devices
onboard. While such situations are generally fine when under management,
once being used without supervision, it could pose serious security issues.

Therefore, we strongly recommend establishing and managing
Crew Internet onboard to maintain order and security.

Our ORiON PLUS and its ticket system allow fair and efficient distribution
of Starlink usage among crew members. If your vessel is yet to equip Starlink,
taking this solution into consideration is highly suggested.

Thanks & best regards.