The non-profit industrial consortium Navelink, owned by Kongsberg Norcontrol and Wärtsilä and operated by Combitech, will officially close by the end of December 2024. This decision stems from current market conditions and an unpredictable future landscape, with no enforced legislation expected until 2028-2030.
– First and foremost, we regret being in this position, but there is no other course of action. The transformation and digitalization of the maritime domain has not progressed at the pace required to justify maintaining an operational Maritime Connectivity Platform from a business perspective. We extend our thanks to Wärtsilä for their excellent cooperation, all our enrolled users, and especially Combitech, who have been instrumental as the legal entity and governance organization,” said Kristoffer Ytterbö, VP Technology and Products at Kongsberg Norcontrol and one of the governance board members.
– We concur with Kongsberg Norcontrol’s statement, added Yue Sum Choo, Head of Product Management & Development, Ports Optimisation at Wärtsilä and a governance board member. In addition, we would like to thank Combitech for their stewardship of this initiative and Kongsberg for their cooperation, continued Choo.
Combitech, the legal body and governance organization of Navelink, will now focus on closing down ongoing activities.
– I am very proud to have been Head of Navelink for almost five years. It has been a privilege to work with Kongsberg Norcontrol, Wärtsilä, and all our enrolled organizations. Most of all, I am proud of our team within Combitech, who have delivered a platform connected to secure identities that is well ahead of its time in the Maritime Domain. We will focus on fulfilling all agreements with continued full operations until 31 December and in parallel terminating all agreements and closing operations while seeking potential beneficiaries or investors for an alternative solution. If no other solutions arise shortly, we will proceed accordingly,” said Anders Wendel, Head of Navelink.
Established in December 2019, Navelink was the first and is currently the only operational Maritime Connectivity Platform in the world. By the end of 2024, it will be closed down if no other solution is in place.