Reinauer Maritime Group

The Reinauer Maritime Group with offices in Staten Island, New York and East Boston, Massachusetts manages a fleet of 30 petroleum barges and 30 tugboats through the waterways of the East Coast and the Great Lakes. The company transports petroleum and petroleum products throughout the northeastern United States, and sometimes ranges as far as Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, and Texas.

Challenges

With most of its fleet and therefore most of its employees in transit at any given moment, it was difficult for Reinauer to communicate with them efficiently or to access and process company information in a timely manner. With the transition to International Safety Management practices and the necessary changes required by regulatory bodies, finding a more effective method for communicating with the fleet became a priority. The company already used Nextel and Boatracs communications systems, but they were looking for something more.

“We needed offshore Internet capability, quality photos, printing, scanning, copying, and emailing,” said Laura Raymond, System Administrator for Reinauer Transportation. “We wanted each of our vessels to be an operational small business in itself.”

Solution

After investigating several possibilities for improving communications with Reinauer’s fleet, the company chose to equip each of its vessels with a Dell notebook computer and a Sierra Wireless AirCard 555D operating on Verizon Wireless’ NationalAccess CDMA 1x network. In addition, each vessel has been equipped with a digital camera, a portable printer, and small business software.

Reinauer is now able to keep in contact with its vessels in real time, to send out Mariners notices, dispatch new orders, discuss cargo operations, schedule fueling docks, and forward security alerts to the fleet – something that has become increasingly important with heightened security in the region.

One of the key benefits of implementing this solution is the reduced response time when a vessel needs repair. Before this was deployed, engineers on shore had to rely on the descriptions of the on-board engineer to plan needed repairs and order necessary parts.

“If something’s wrong with an engine – if there’s a crack or a leak or if something breaks – right away the engineer on the tugboat is taking pictures of it from all different angles and he’s using the AirCard to email our port engineers with the information, and they’re able to analyse and troubleshoot it right there,” said Raymond.

Reinauer Transportation considers the new ability to maintain closer contact with its vessels and its employees to be the greatest benefit. In Laura Raymond’s words, “Live information, from someone or something that is nowhere near us, is priceless.” 

The Sierra Wireless AirCard 555D has provided Reinauer with the following benefits:

• Improved communication – critical information updates can be easily communicated to the entire fleet
• Real-time solutions - The more accurate diagnosis of problems and faster turnaround time on repairs is saving the company significantly in repair costs.
• Reduced communication costs – Reinauer has also reduced its usage of satellite communications systems which are significantly more expensive to use.