AMTS Offers Iridium-Based Long-Range Identification and Tracking Services

BETHESDA, Md. and CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – June 10, 2009 – Absolute Maritime Tracking Services (AMTS) and Iridium Satellite LLC (Iridium) announce that AMTS is now offering Long-Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) through the Iridium satellite network. AMTS is a joint venture of Absolute Software, Inc. and PC Holdings.

AMTS operates the national data center and acts as the LRIT Application Service Provider for Panama, the world’s largest merchant maritime registry. As an Iridium Value-Added Reseller, AMTS is now able to sell and provision Iridium-based LRIT connectivity to ships flying the flag of Panama, a market estimated to include more than 8,000 vessels.

Under new regulations that the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has adopted, ships subject to the International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) must be equipped with an approved LRIT device that reports its location and identification to a database operated by the administration under which the vessel is flagged. This database may be accessed by authorized users, such as national coast guards, at regular intervals.

“Iridium offers a robust worldwide solution for ships flying the Panamanian flag to comply with the IMO’s LRIT carriage requirements,” said Jeff Douglas, director for AMTS. “With its global satellite coverage over all the Earth’s seaways, low-latency, two-way short-burst data (SBD) links and high network quality, Iridium provides an ideal communication medium for LRIT reporting.”

“Iridium is the only truly global LRIT Communication Service Provider,” said Don Thoma, executive vice president, Marketing, Iridium. “And, Iridium is the only maritime satellite system that provides coverage over all IMO Sea Areas, including A4, encompassing the Polar Regions. As the only system covering Sea Area A4, ships operating in those waters can only meet the carriage requirements with an Iridium LRIT device.”

Three Value-Added Manufacturers – Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS), EMA and Faria WatchDog, Inc. – have successfully tested their LRIT products for operation on the Iridium satellite network, and offer a robust and reliable solution for LRIT compliance for ships flying the Panamanian flag.

The IMO LRIT carriage requirements apply to all vessels of 300 gross tonnage and above on international voyages, including passenger ships, cargo ships, high-speed craft and mobile offshore drilling units.

The LRIT carriage requirements came into effect Jan. 1, 2009 for ships operating in all IMO Sea Areas except Sea Area A4. The deadline for ships operating in Sea Area A4 is July 1, 2009. All new ships subject to the LRIT regulations must comply by these dates, and current ships requiring retrofit equipment must comply by the date of their first radio survey after these deadlines. Ships certified for service in Sea Area A4 must comply by the earlier date when they are operating in other Sea Areas.

About Iridium Satellite LLC

Iridium Satellite LLC (www.iridium.com) is the only mobile satellite service (MSS) company offering coverage over the entire globe. The Iridium constellation of low-earth orbiting (LEO), cross-linked satellites provides critical voice and data services for areas not served by terrestrial communication networks. Iridium’s subscriber growth has been driven by increasing demand for reliable, global communications. Iridium serves commercial markets through a worldwide network of hundreds of distributors, and provides services to the U.S. Department of Defense, and other U.S. and international government agencies. The company’s customers represent a broad spectrum of industry, including maritime, aeronautical, government/defense, public safety, utilities, oil/gas, mining, forestry, heavy equipment and transportation. Iridium has launched a major development program for its next-generation satellite constellation, Iridium NEXT, which will result in continued and new Iridium MSS offerings. The company is headquartered in Bethesda, Md. and is currently privately held.

About Absolute Maritime Tracking Services (AMTS)

AMTS is a joint venture of Absolute Software, Inc. (www.absolutesw.com) and PC Holdings. Absolute Software, Inc. is a privately held company with offices in the U.S. and Australia. Absolute has developed many of the world’s largest wide-area satellite surveillance projects, and its products are considered the benchmark for sophisticated automatic track analysis in the maritime domain.