With the COVID-19 pandemic putting all plans on hold for the next few months, there are anecdotal reports of yachts cancelling their summer seasons completely. However, demand within the satellite communications sector indicates that many yachts continue to prepare for the summer as normal.

“If you look across the whole maritime industry, we are seeing the biggest impact on demand in the cruise ship and ferry sectors because of the travel restrictions,” says Jan Hetland, director of data services at Telenor Satellite. “But what is interesting with the superyacht market is that we have a good number of prospects for the summer season ahead, with at least as much demand as normal.”

Hetland and his team have been surprised that levels of demand from the yachting sector have remained unchanged up until now, given the current circumstances. “If countries start to close ports and [travel] restrictions continue, then I think we will see a reduction in demand,” he continues. “But our analysis is that this is a reflection that the yachting industry is still anticipating everything to go ahead as normal in June or July. There are yacht services activations happening as we speak.”

In order to help its clients during what is a challenging time for all businesses, Telenor Satellite is trying to be as flexible as possible. “We are trying to support our clients through these uncertain times by offering them customised solutions,” Hetland concludes.

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