news : Iridium Anti-Piracy Program Offers Free Calls from Ships to Naval Forces

Iridium has announced an important new component of a comprehensive program for combating piracy on the high seas. Effective immediately, all calls from ships equipped with Iridium to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center are now free of charge. The UKMTO is available via short-code - 9715 - or can be dialed directly at +971 50 552 3215.

All calls to the UKMTO number will be connected through the Iridium network free of charge. This applies to all Iridium SIM cards and includes postpaid services, prepaid services and Iridium OpenPort. Calls to the UKMTO will be zero-rated in the call detail records that Iridium service providers receive.

The UKMTO is the primary point of contact between merchant shipping and naval forces patrolling the danger zone off the Somali coast. UKMTO has direct communication to all naval assets in the area and plays a key role in coordinating the naval response when pirates board and attack ships. UKMTO also administers the Voluntary Reporting Scheme, under which merchant vessels are encouraged to send regular reports, providing their position/course/speed and ETA at their next port while transiting the region bound by Suez, 78°E and 10°S. Emerging and relevant information affecting commercial traffic can then be passed directly to ships, rather than by company offices, improving responsiveness to any incident and saving time.