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News about VDES

Successful launch of VDES-related satellites!

On 30 March 2026, a Falcon 9 launch successfully carried a number of satellites into orbit, including missions from the VDES Alliance members – Space Norway and LusoSpace.

This launch marks an important step in strengthening satellite capabilities relevant for future VDES-based services and maritime connectivity more broadly.

With new assets now in orbit, the potential for expanding coverage continues to improve. This is especially relevant for services such as digital maritime safety information and other data-driven applications that rely on reliable communication beyond terrestrial infrastructure.

Lars Løge, VDES Program Manager – Space Norway:

“The successful launch of our new satellite Mimir, with a VDES payload onboard, marks an exiting next step for our satellite VDES developments. The satellite VDES capacity provided by Mimir will enable new maritime services to be developed and operationalised to support the digitalisation of the maritime community for our partners and customers.”

Catarina Nunes, Product Manager for AIS/VDES – LusoSpace

“On 30 March, LusoSpace reached a new milestone – the successful launch of four new satellites equipped with AIS and VDES, joining the PoSat-2, which has been in orbit since January 2025, marks the beginning of the “Lusíada” constellation, which now has five satellites in space.”

From a VDES perspective, it is a solid signal that progress on the satellite side continues, as this remains an important part of enabling global and resilient maritime communication.

The VDES Alliance welcomes the successful launch and looks forward to following the next steps as these systems move towards operational use. If you would like to learn more about VDES or the activities of the Alliance, you are very welcome to reach out via our social media channels or at administration@vdes-alliance.org.

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Alliance news News about VDES

VDES performance joint testing

In January 2026 Teledyne FLIR TransponderTech and CML Microcircuits performed joined VDES testing in False Bay, South Africa to test the performance of VDES. VDES performed very well and 0% PER was measured over range of 50 km when using link ID 19. Details of the testing will follow in a joint report.

Stay tuned!

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Alliance news Events

VDES Alliance at IALA DTEC6

The VDES Alliance will be present at the upcoming IALA DTEC6 conference, with representation by its newly appointed President, Stefan Pielmeier.

DTEC6 brings together stakeholders across the maritime and navigation community to discuss developments in digital technologies, making it a highly relevant forum for ongoing VDES-related discussions, including standardisation, implementation or operational use cases.

Stefan will represent the Alliance in discussions and exchanges with industry, authorities, as well as Chairman of DTEC WG3, continuing the Alliance’s active engagement in shaping the future of VDES. The participation also marks his first official representation of the Alliance in his new role as President.

If you are attending DTEC6 and would like to discuss anything related to VDES, we encourage you to approach Stefan during the event.

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Alliance news

VDES Alliance appoints new President

The VDES Alliance is pleased to announce that Stefan Pielmeier has been formally appointed as President of the Alliance.

This appointment follows the amendment of the Articles of Association approved at the Annual General Assembly in September 2025, which introduced the possibility to appoint a President to support the day-to-day operations of the Alliance and strengthen its overall coordination.

In this role, the President is responsible for the daily management of the Alliance, ensuring that decisions and resolutions of the Board are implemented, and supporting the execution of ongoing activities across the Working Groups and membership. The President also represents the Alliance in relevant external forums, including IALA, RTCM or IMO, to mention a few.

The introduction of the President role reflects the continued growth of the VDES Alliance and the increasing need for dedicated leadership to support its activities, coordination efforts, and external engagement.

Stefan Pielmeier brings extensive experience in VDES standardisation and international maritime cooperation, and will play an important role in supporting the Alliance’s mission to advance VDES globally. He previously served as Chairman of the Alliance, from its launch in 2022 until September 2025.

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Events News about VDES

Successful demonstration of S-124 Navigational Warnings using YMIR-1 VDES satellite

In October 2025, a demonstration trial was conducted to demonstrate the distribution of navigational warning information using the Ymir-1 VDES satellite.

This demonstration was carried out with the support of the Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (Japan) through the joint efforts of Sternula Japan Co., Ltd., Sternula, and the AOS Consortium (Teledyne FLIR TransponderTech, AAC Clyde Space, and ORBCOMM).

First, a dataset of S-124 Navigational Warning messages to be transmitted via satellite was generated in Denmark. The dataset was then sent to the satellite operations centre in the United Kingdom, where satellite health monitoring and operational scheduling of the VDES satellite Ymir-1 are managed. The dataset was subsequently forwarded to a satellite earth station located in Norway and uplinked to Ymir-1 via an S-band feeder link.

Ymir-1 transmitted the S-124 navigational warning message dataset toward the designated test area according to a pre-planned transmission schedule. A VDES terminal (R6 VDES) installed onboard a demonstration vessel operating within the test area received the navigational warning, which was displayed on the vessel’s ECDIS-like screen. At the same time, the received data were transmitted back to Denmark via an LTE connection, and subsequently forwarded to Japan.

Due to experimental licensing constraints in Japan, the test area was located in European waters; however, the navigational warning message distributed during the trial consisted of a “tsunami warning” targeting the entrance area of Tokyo Bay, Japan.

On 5 November 2025, a public demonstration of the trial results was held in Tokyo. Representatives from relevant Japanese government agencies and private-sector organizations attended the event, together with the Technical Director of FLIR TransponderTech, Peter Bergljung (Chair of the VDES Alliance) invited from Sweden, while stakeholders in the United Kingdom and Denmark participated remotely.

Approximately 90 maritime professionals gathered to discuss challenges and potential solutions toward the practical implementation of satellite VDES. The event successfully established a shared understanding among participants regarding future deployment and operational considerations.

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Alliance news

VDES Alliance Announces New Board of Directors

The VDES Alliance is pleased to announce the appointment of its new Board of Directors, elected at the Annual General Assembly held on 15 September 2025.

Mr. Peter Bergljung (SAAB TransponderTech) has been appointed as Chairman of the Board, and Mr. Derek Love (CML Microcircuits) as Co-Chairman.

The Board of Directors further includes:

  • Mr. Jorge Arroyo, U.S. Coast Guard
  • Mr. Pieter Winter, S3C
  • Mr. Koichi Nishimura, TST Corporation
  • Mr. Lars Løge, Space Norway
  • Mr. Luiz Rocha, Sternula

The new Board will continue to advance the mission of the VDES Alliance – to accelerate the adoption and interoperability of VDES technologies, ensuring secure and efficient maritime data exchange worldwide.

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Uncategorized

Andrew Evan “Andy” Loretta, 50, of Miami, Florida, passed away on June 10, 2025

The VDES Alliance remembers Andy as a strong VDES supporter, that we will miss in our work.

Peter Bergljung, our co-chair of the VDES Alliance remembers:

“I first met Andy in 2020, when I began collaborating with his company, ORBCOMM, on the initiation of the AIS/VDES satellite project called YMIR-1. Since then, Andy and I spoke and met—both digitally and in person—many times, certainly hundreds of times, regarding YMIR-1 and the VDES Alliance.

Back in 2020, Andy shared with me his extensive experience with AIS satellites, which ORBCOMM had operated in orbit for many years. VDES, the next generation of AIS, was something we began exploring together. Andy’s knowledge of AIS satellites was invaluable to me, and when we launched the VDES Alliance in 2022, ORBCOMM was one of the first members to join. Andy actively participated in VDES Alliance meetings, contributing his deep business expertise in AIS data services and helping us envision how this knowledge could be applied to VDES.

I will remember Andy for his profound knowledge of AIS and VDES, as well as for the many insightful and enjoyable meetings we shared. His passing is a tragic loss, and he will be deeply missed.”

The VDES Alliance extends our deepest condolences to Andy’s family, friends, and colleagues.

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News about VDES

New G-1002 Guideline published by the VDES Alliance

The VDES Alliance is proud to announce publishing of the new G-1002 Guideline on coordinated use of satellite VDES frequencies, Logical Channels and spreading code among satellite VDES operators.

Access the document here.

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Events

VDES Alliance Participation at IMO NCSR12 in London

The VDES Alliance is participating in the 12th session of the Sub-Committee on Navigation, Communications and Search and Rescue (NCSR) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on May 12–15, 2025. We thank CIRM for organizing our participation at NCSR12.

A delegation from the VDES Alliance board, including the chairman Stefan Pielmeier, the co-chairman Peter Bergljung, Koichi Nishimura and Derek Love, will be present to support the ongoing work on the development and standardization of the VHF Data Exchange System (VDES), as well as to contribute to discussions on future maritime digitalization efforts. The board members will be in attendance to engage with stakeholders and represent the Alliance’s collective expertise and efforts.

For more information about VDES Alliance and its activities, find us at our coffee table at the event or reach out to administration@vdes-alliance.org. 

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News about VDES

VDES Test standard progress

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is developing a testing standard for VDES shipborne mobile stations denoted IEC 63514, currently in TC80 Committee Draft (CD) stage.

The latest draft allows for wide alignment of detailed requirements for participating VDES manufacturers,  and makes system validation and compatibility testing possible to a very large extent.

A Committee Draft for Voting (CDV) with full technical requirements and test methods in place, allowing type approval to start is expected to be available in 2026 and a published International Standard (IS) during 2027.

This is expected to align with the publication of an IMO performance standard and installation guideline for VDES.