Starlink Maritime — Customer Guide
Your Starlink at Sea:
What You Need to Know
How your Starlink Maritime system works, where it can be used, restricted ports and countries, and how to get the best performance onboard.
How It Works
Starlink Maritime — The Basics
Your system connects your vessel to the internet via SpaceX's low-Earth orbit satellite network — from virtually anywhere on the ocean.
Satellite Network
Thousands of LEO satellites at ~550 km altitude cover open oceans and coastal waters worldwide.
Auto-Tracking Dish
The dish automatically locks onto and follows satellites as your vessel moves. Install once, always connected.
Geo-Fencing
Service activates or cuts off automatically based on your vessel's GPS position relative to each country's territorial waters.
High Speed at Sea
100–250 Mbps in open water — enough for video calls, crew communications, navigation, and streaming.
Performance
What to Expect
Typical speeds and performance for the Starlink Maritime plan.
Download
100–250
Mbps typical
Upload
10–40
Mbps typical
Latency
20–60
ms — good for video calls
Uptime
~99%
Clear sky conditions
⚠️
What Can Affect Performance
Heavy storms may reduce speeds temporarily. Any obstruction blocking the dish — crane arms, masts, cargo — causes dropouts. Always keep a clear sky view above the dish. Use the Starlink app to run an obstruction check.
Connectivity Zones
Where Your Connection Works
Your Starlink Maritime behaves differently depending on your vessel's position.
1
🌊 Open Ocean — Full Speed, No Restrictions
Beyond 12 nautical miles from any coast, your connection runs at full capacity. No geo-fencing applies. Best performance zone.
2
🧭 Approaching Shore — 12nm Geo-Fence Zone
Within ~12nm of a coastline, Starlink checks if that country approved the service. Approved → no change. Restricted → connection cuts off automatically. This is normal, not a device fault.
3
⚓ In Port (Approved Country) — Works Normally
In Egypt, most of Europe, USA, Australia, and other approved countries — connection continues normally while docked.
4
🚫 In Port (Restricted Country) — No Service
In countries where Starlink is banned or unlicensed (Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE…), connection stops in port and territorial waters. Service resumes automatically once back in open ocean or an approved zone.
Restricted Ports & Waters
Countries Where Starlink Does Not Work
Your device will automatically lose signal within ~12 nautical miles of these coastlines.
🚫
Automatic — Not a Device Fault
If your connection drops near the countries below, this is normal geo-fencing behavior — not a hardware issue. Service resumes automatically when you leave the area. Do not attempt to bypass this; it violates Starlink's Terms of Service and local maritime law.
| Country / Waters | Status | Impact on Your Route |
|---|---|---|
| 🇹🇷 Turkey | No License | Cuts off ~12nm from coast. Affects Med routes toward Bodrum, Istanbul, Marmaris. |
| 🇮🇷 Iran | Banned | Banned since 2025. No service in Iranian waters. Affects Persian Gulf routes. |
| 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | Pending | Not licensed. No service in Saudi waters or Red Sea ports. |
| 🇦🇪 UAE | Pending | Not licensed. Affects Dubai, Abu Dhabi port calls. |
| 🇨🇳 China | Banned | Fully blocked. No service in Chinese waters or ports. |
| 🇷🇺 Russia | Banned | Sanctions. No service in Russian waters. |
| 🇸🇾 Syria | Banned | Sanctions. No service in Syrian coastal waters. |
| 🇰🇵 North Korea | Banned | Total communications isolation. |
| 🇵🇰 Pakistan | Pending | No license. No service in Pakistani waters. |
| 🇸🇩 Sudan | Pending | Approval stalled. Affects Red Sea corridor. |
| 🇪🇷 Eritrea | Pending | No approval. Affects Horn of Africa / Red Sea routes. |
| 🇩🇯 Djibouti | Pending | Approval stalled. Affects Gulf of Aden transit. |
💡
Plan Ahead for Restricted Ports
Download offline charts and critical documents before entering restricted waters. Contact InfraLink for route-specific connectivity advice.
Best Practices
Onboard Guidelines
Keep your Starlink running at peak performance at sea.
✅ Do
- Keep the dish area fully clear of obstructions at all times
- Run an obstruction check via the Starlink app when speeds drop
- Keep firmware updated automatically via the app
- Check the country list before any new port call
- Contact InfraLink immediately for any technical issues
❌ Don't
- Never manually reposition the dish — it auto-aligns
- Don't mount cargo or rigging that blocks the dish's sky view
- Don't share your Starlink account credentials with other vessels
- Don't attempt to use the service in banned countries
- Don't cover or paint the dish surface