Nokia is equipping 450 vessels in Danish shipping giant Maersk’s fleet with a private wireless network for real-time cargo tracking.

This deployment is part of Maersk’s IoT connectivity platform, OneWireless, which offers numerous benefits to its customers, including real-time cargo tracking, enhanced supply chain visibility and improved operational efficiency.

The evolving environment of logistics and maritime operations is complex and highly mobile, requiring resilient and flexible technology for real-time asset tracking and positioning. By transitioning to Nokia’s private wireless technology, Maersk will overcome the problems of its current infrastructure onboard both its own and chartered vessels and gain access to increased scalability and future-proof connectivity.

The unified mobile network powered by Nokia’s radio portfolio supports numerous IoT devices and secure interoperability between private and public networks, ensuring Maersk customers’ cargo is reliably monitored at sea, port or land. This is important for tracking parameters such as temperature and humidity for fruit and other perishables.

“With our next-generation connectivity platform, we will be able to offer our customers notable benefits, including real-time cargo tracking, enhanced supply chain visibility and improved operational efficiency,” said Kjeld Dittmann from Maersk (www.maersk.com). “This platform is designed to support thousands of IoT devices, ensuring optimal performance for reefer tracking and fleet IoT.”

Maersk customers can already monitor the temperature of their reefer cargo, but the current 2G network infrastructure onboard limits the frequency of data point updates. With the roll-out of the new platform, this infrastructure is transitioning to 4G, enabling an increase in data granularity and paving the way for smarter cargo tracking and enhanced operational insights.

“This upgrade to our IoT infrastructure is comparable to the shift consumers experienced when moving from 2G to 4G mobile networks,” said Dittmann. “Just as that transition brought faster speeds, better connectivity and new possibilities for our everyday lives, this new platform transforms how it is possible to communicate with cargo aboard. With real-time data sharing at unprecedented speed and reliability, we are unlocking new levels of efficiency and operational excellence to meet the demands of a connected, data-driven world.”

Tommi Uitto, president of mobile networks at Nokia (www.nokia.com), added: “Nokia’s technology leadership in private wireless goes far beyond just connectivity, as demonstrated by this major new contract with Maersk. Our radio access portfolio and MantaRay network management will deliver reliable, real-time and future-ready mobile networks that will optimise Maersk’s marine operations. We look forward to working collaboratively with them on this important project.”

The technology leverages Nokia’s small cells portfolio, including Shikra RRH remote radio heads and compact baseband, along with custom-designed antennas. Each vessel has a small core connected to the radio, using satellite communication for backhaul. Additionally, MantaRay NM (www.nokia.com/mobile-networks/ran-operations/network-management), located in Maersk’s operations centre, provides a consolidated network view for optimal monitoring and management.

The deployment is underway and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026.