Abu Dhabi, 22 June, 2023 : Chinese embassy officials commend Yahsat for its support in the rescue of five fishermen, who were located using a Thuraya MarineStar terminal
Abu Dhabi, UAE, 22 June 2023: In a search and rescue operation spanning international waters, the UAE's flagship satellite solutions provider, Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PJSC (ADX trading symbol: YAHSAT) and its mobility arm, Thuraya Telecommunications Company, worked closely with Chinese governmental agencies, including China's Embassy in the UAE and its Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) to save a group of Chinese fishermen lost at sea.
The rescue mission underscores the significance of satellite-enabled connectivity in critical and life-threatening situations. It also underlines the importance of cross-border cooperation between Yahsat and numerous international entities, which continues to play an essential role in saving lives globally. Two senior officials from the Embassy of China in the UAE visited Yahsat's headquarters in Abu Dhabi on 15 June to thank the management and staff for their timely support and explored possibilities of strengthening safety services on small boats, especially fishing vessels. Senior executives from Yahsat briefed the visiting diplomats on the numerous advantages of Thuraya's satellite communications equipment.
The incident took place on 20 May, when Yahsat's Customer Care team received an emergency call for assistance from the Embassy of China in the UAE. The call was made on behalf of China's MRCC after they were alerted that a few Chinese fishermen and their boat were missing. The MRCC reached out to the Embassy to connect with Yahsat and Thuraya as the boat was equipped with a Thuraya MarineStar terminal, hence locating the boat was possible.
Ali Al Hashemi, Yahsat's Group Chief Executive Officer, said: This rescue is a strong and enduring testament of the excellent relationship we as a company have with various agencies at the international level, including Chinese governmental entities. In such types of operations, quick action is imperative to locate and rescue individuals who are in danger. Fortunately, we were able to find out the whereabouts of the fishermen in time, thanks to the Thuraya MarineStar terminal installed on their boat, which allowed us to pass that information onto relevant Chinese authorities. This successful mission clearly demonstrates that Yahsat's and Thuraya's cutting-edge solutions are not only crucial for empowering business activities, but more importantly vital for saving lives.
Tan Junyao, First Secretary for Transport at the Embassy of China in the UAE, said: Search and rescue of lives is an international humanitarian work generally accepted worldwide. Both China and the United Arab Emirates are state parties of the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue formulated by International Maritime Organization (IMO). Both countries uphold the spirit of international humanitarianism and are dedicated to reducing the loss of life at sea. Satellite communication plays a critical role in emergency response, search and rescue operations in remote waters. Yahsat provided the support to MRCCs at short notice, and their timely locating the missing persons enables quick and effective international Search and Rescue coordination, thus increasing the probability of successful rescue of persons in distress. By working together in such an effective and rapid manner, we were able to protect the safety of people at sea. We look forward to exploring various ways with Yahsat to further strengthen safety awareness for small boats and thereby safeguard the lives of fishermen in the future.
The rescue mission is the second-of-its-kind involving Yahsat's direct contribution in the last eight months, as seven fishermen stranded in international waters between the Philippines and Indonesia were saved in November 2022. Their boat was equipped with a Thuraya XT-LITE satellite phone, which enabled them to make a distress call.
In 2022 alone, Yahsat saved close to 130 lives through direct intervention by its Customer Care as part of the Group's Save Lives' campaign. This underscores the importance of equipping small boats with satellite communication gear and creating more safety awareness among operators and crew, especially in Asia, which employs 85% of the world's fishers.
With the UAE marking 2023 as the Year of Sustainability, Yahsat remains committed to achieving the nation's sustainable development goals by using its space technology to ensure human welfare and sustained economic growth, both at home and overseas, across its global satellite footprint.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
08/09/2026
Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) has announced a multi-year agreement with A E...
08/09/2026
Spectra Logic today announced the availability of Media Insight, a new capabilit...
08/09/2026
Rogers Communications and Quebecor have announced a 12-year sublicensing agreement for French-language national NHL games beginning with the 2026-27 season. TVA...
08/09/2026
Skyline Communications and Bridge Technologies will demonstrate two integrations...
08/09/2026
Boland Communications will make the European debut of its 4K55HDR7SNB 55-inch super-narrow-bezel monitor at IBC2026 (Stand 12.C57, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-1...
08/09/2026
Ateme and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) have announced a collaboration comb...
08/09/2026
Haivision has joined the IBC Accelerator Media Innovation Programme as part of t...
08/09/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced price reductions on its PYXIS 6K and Cinema Camera 6K models, effective immediately through Blackmagic Design resellers worldwid...
08/09/2026
AI-Media will demonstrate its LEXI Suite at IBC2026 (Booth 5.C34, September 11-1...
08/09/2026
Bitmovin and Ad Insertion Platform (AIP) have announced the first live deploymen...
08/09/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate story-centric media workflows at IBC2026 (Booth 9.A01, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), connecting newsroom production, content ma...
08/09/2026
M2A Media and Ateme have announced a partnership integrating Ateme's video processing solutions into M2A Media's MediaToAnywhere platform for live sport...
08/09/2026
Ikegami will exhibit at IBC2026 (Stand 12.A31, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), including a Day 1 introduction of new cameras in the UNICAM XE series. Additiona...
08/09/2026
Broadcast industry analysts will be gathering plenty of insights at the 2026 IBC Show this weekend in Amsterdam, but Caretta Research has offered up some though...
08/09/2026
SENSHI and DAZN have announced a global broadcast partnership that will bring SENSHI's live events free to viewers in more than 200 markets. The partnership...
08/09/2026
New architecture built with Evertz will bring 4K HDR to Monday Night Football, N...
08/09/2026
Built for rap producers, by rap producers
Sauceware Audio, the independent plug-in company founded by Grammy-nominated producer Jacob (Travis Scott, 21 Sava...
08/09/2026
Classic Sound Techniques design revived
Warm Audio's latest release delivers a meticulous recreation of the preamp circuitry employed by the Sound Techn...
08/09/2026
Latest soft synth inspired by the Memorymoog
XILS Lab have just launched a software instrument that draws its inspiration from Moog's iconic Memorymoog,...
08/09/2026
The Airport Chaplain takes off as SBS's biggest launch of 2026
8 September, 2026
Media releases
1.67 million viewers on National Total TV to date
Best...
08/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/09/2026
Mo-Sys, the world-leading developer of virtual production, camera robotics and image tracking technology, has completed a business restructuring, which has incl...
08/09/2026
New York, September 8, 2026 The TSAmediaHUB audiovisual contribution and distribution infrastructure developed by Telef nica's Audiovisual Services area re...
08/09/2026
Expanded Riyadh operation brings Asharq and Thmanyah services together on a resilient on-premises Pebble platform.
Pebble, the leading automation, content mana...
08/09/2026
Techex, a pioneering leader in live video workflows, will showcase its broadest software feature set to date at IBC 2026 (Stand 2.B45), extending its lead in so...
08/09/2026
Visitors to Grass Valley's booth at IBC2026 will be introduced to new Framelight X capabilities that connect content acquisition, management, editing and pu...
08/09/2026
BCNEXXT will showcase the latest evolution of Vipe at IBC2026 (Stand 2.B09), introducing a series of innovations designed to deliver higher-quality audience exp...
08/09/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Ad Insertion Platform (AIP), a leading innovator in advanced ad insertion technologies, to...
08/09/2026
Brainstorm, a leading manufacturer of real-time graphics and augmented and virtual production, is announcing a major package of enhancements to its Suite 7 soft...
08/09/2026
Big Blue Marble is supporting TDF, French infrastructure and network operator, broadcasting Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and radio services, as a techno...
08/09/2026
Agents work inside a single production environment, from incoming wire copy to a live studio show...
08/09/2026
Building on their strategic partnership, Ceeblue and Layercake make the unthinkable possible: scalable sub-second streaming over standard DRM, SSAI, and CDN wor...
08/09/2026
Brainstorm, a leading manufacturer of real-time graphics, augmented and virtual production, is completing the environment for fast-paced broadcast production wi...
08/09/2026
A SaaS portfolio built to work together, helping operators grow audiences, monetise smarter and run leaner, on their own terms
At IBC 2026 (stand 1.B49) Synam...
08/09/2026
Accedo, global provider of video streaming software and services, has been selected by PlayOn Sports, a national leader in high school sports technology, to exp...
08/09/2026
LiveU, the leader in live IP-video solutions, is enabling The Associated Press to take global newsgathering to the next stage with intelligent connectivity and ...
08/09/2026
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced the latest evolution of it...
08/09/2026
Compact, power-efficient X Platform performance brings broadcast-grade reliability and ultra-low latency to space-constrained remote production (REMI) workflows...
08/09/2026
Zixi, the leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, and Kiloview, a leading provider of professional IP video encoding and decoding solutions, t...
08/09/2026
Collaboration gives content owners scalable CDN capacity and broadcasters enhanced flexibility, including for C-band transition planning
Quortex today announce...
08/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/09/2026
Telos Alliance and Pluxbox Announce Dynamic Media Facility Integration Partnersh...
08/09/2026
J nger Audio Showcases Industry-First S-ADM Cloud Workflow at IBC 2026
Search
Dolby, MainConcept, Techex and J nger Audio will showcase the industry's ...
08/09/2026
Tuesday 8 September 2026
Sky Go gets a major upgrade for Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers
Today, Sky launches a new version of the Sky Go app for Sky Glass ...
08/09/2026
Documentary thriller simulating a Russian attack on UK soil will culminate in a live final episode reuniting the playersTuesday 8 September 2026
Trailer releas...
08/09/2026
Tuesday 8 September 2026
Jamie Demetriou and Amelia Dimoldenberg to host next t...
08/09/2026
Wuppertal September 8, 2026
Riedel Introduces New OnAir Headset PlatformRiedel Communications today announced the launch of its new OnAir headset platform, a...
Abu Dhabi, 22 June, 2023 : Chinese embassy officials commend Yahsat for its support in the rescue of five fishermen, who were located using a Thuraya MarineStar terminal
