Iridium Satellite LLC said it expanded its range of ship security alert systems (SSAS) that meet the International Maritime Organization‘s (IMO) carriage requirements. The company said four of its value-added manufacturing partners —Thrane & Thrane, Beam Communications, Sky Connect and Applied Satellite Engineering— introduced SSAS products, which have been type-approved by flag states and major classification societies to meet IMO performance standards. The SSAS terminals take advantage of Iridium’s global data service and provide full voice and data capabilities.

The IMO SSAS regulations require deep-sea passengers and cargo ships to be equipped with a device that can send out an alert message containing the ship’s ID and position whenever the ship is under threat from pirates or terrorists.