Seatrade Maritime: Vessel penalised for using Starlink in Chinese waters – report

Ningbo Maritime Administration is stepping up enforcement against the use of Starlink on ships in the waters of one China’s busiest ports.

A report in the South China Morning post quoted Ningbo Daily that an unidentified international vessel had been issued a penalty for using low earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications in Chinese waters off Ningbo.

The vessel was found with a “micro rectangular antenna” installed on its top deck during a routine inspection by maritime law enforcement officers at Ningbo port.

While the satellite service brand was not named in the report photos showed a rectangular antenna identifiable as Starlink. According to the report the ship had been found to be using the terminal to transmit data in Chinese waters.

Starlink is banned in China and Elon Musk’s SpaceX does not have license for the service which is seen a security threat. China prohibits foreign companies from operating basic communications services in the country. LEO services such as Starlink bypass local gateways in China linking directly to international satellites.

The use of LEO services in ports is seen by the authorities as interfering with other wireless equipment and posing a safety risk and the authorities in Ningbo are starting to crackdown on its use.

“We will take this landmark first case as an opportunity to continue to intensify enforcement against illegal radio communication activities in our jurisdiction and rigorously crack down on unauthorised use of satellite communication equipment,” Ma Yanchao, director of the command centre at the Ningbo Maritime Safety Administration, was quoted as saying.

Starlink and other LEO services have become hugely popular in shipping over the last few years providing higher speed internet connections at much lower costs than traditional geo-stationary satellite services. 

It’s not clear if the crackdown on the usage of LEO services is limited to the port of Ningbo or will form part of wider campaign across China.