Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines has become one of the first major cargo shipping groups to trial Elon Musk’s satellite communication service Starlink.

MOL has signed a memorandum of understanding with hydrid network provider Marlink to start using the low earth orbit (LEO) satellite network on selected ships that it operates.

LEOs promise high-speed and low-delay signals but need to switch between satellites much more often than traditional high level geostationary (GEO) satellites that cover huge areas of the earth.