Whitworth Joins Maritime IoT Firm Pentonet

Experienced satellite communications executive will help shipowners apply open standards and cloud connectivity for better visibility of operational data

Maritime IoT start-up Pentonet has appointed Trevor Whitworth as Commercial Director, tasked with expanding the company’s presence globally.

The shipping industry is adopting Internet of Things (IoT) technologies at an increasingly fast pace, enabling remote monitoring of systems and machinery. The potential benefits range from increased asset utilization, condition-based maintenance and reduced cargo damage, to improved emissions monitoring, helping the shipping sector to understand its environmental impact.

Pentonet provides shipowners and operators with a simple but effective platform to harness the power of shipboard IoT data and make it accessible onboard and ashore at reasonable cost, enabling them to quickly and easily connect their systems to the cloud for processing.

“It’s a significant time to join Pentonet as we engage with the shipping sector to help them understand how to deploy IoT solutions that will change the industry significantly for the better,” said Whitworth. “One of the big stumbling blocks in IoT implementation until now has been connecting the various devices to the ship’s communication network for onward transmission, a problem that Pentonet can address, so that owners can start to enjoy the benefits.”

Whitworth has spent close to 20 years working in maritime satellite communications, joining Telaurus in August 2002 from Globe Wireless, where he held the position of Senior Vice-President, Sales. Prior to that he was General Manager of Operations with GN Comtext where he was instrumental in the creation of the company's suite of ship-to-shore communications products.

In his 17-year tenure with Telaurus (later Globecomm Maritime) he was responsible for growing a start-up business into a company that kept over 3,000 vessels connected on a daily basis.

With an extensive background in maritime operations with O.I.L. Ltd in South America, the Middle East and the UK, Trevor can also claim marketing success securing specialist tonnage contracts in South-East Asia, West Africa and Central America. Trevor has a BSc in Maritime Commerce from the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology and is certified as a British Navigating Officer.

Pentonet was founded in 2016 by Darryn Trowell and Markus Sandelin with the goal of providing onboard cellular connectivity using modern and cost-effective solutions, a mission that has developed into providing smarter communications between ship and shore.