Iridium Contingency Exercise

As part of its oversight responsibilities, IMSO recently monitored a slow-motion contingency exercise conducted by Iridium at its Phoenix, Arizona site. The exercise effectively demonstrated Iridium’s ability to restore GMDSS services in under an hour in the event of a service disruption. The “slow-motion” format allowed for a detailed review of the end-to-end process, to the satisfaction of IMSO.

The exercise was followed by a Public Services Committee (PSC) meeting, which brought together Tim Last, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing at Iridium; Mark Lawson Lawson, Maritime Safety and Security Manager at Iridium; Laurent Parenté, IMSO Director General and Halil Keskin, IMSO Head of Operational Services. The PSC discussions addressed a wide range of issues, including technical aspects of GMDSS, the need to preserve L-band spectrum for maritime safety, and the broader evolution of the satellite communications market. These exchanges reaffirmed IMSO’s continuing support for Iridium’s role as a recognised provider in the GMDSS.

The mission was conducted under the authority of the IMSO Director General Laurent Parenté, who welcomed the high level of transparency and cooperation demonstrated throughout the process.