What changed
Starlink began offering a new Personal Maritime plan by email to selected boat owners. Tesla North and Drive Tesla Canada both reported a price of $185 USD a month on Aug 28, 2026. The plan gives unlimited data in territorial waters and drops the 30-day travel limit that now applies to Roam plans abroad. Tesla North quotes Starlink: “Personal Maritime keeps you connected on the water as you move between countries, without the 30-day Roam travel limit.”
The plan is for small, non-commercial boats. Tesla North reports a 40-foot length limit and excludes yachts, ferries and commercially operated vessels; Drive Tesla Canada says Starlink asks for vessel registration documents. Beyond territorial waters, Ocean Mode data is reported at $6 per gigabyte. Both outlets say it was not yet listed on Starlink’s public shop page.
When
Emails went out in late August 2026; both reports are dated Aug 28, 2026. Other coverage we saw dates the emails to Aug 27, so we treat that date as approximate.
Who is affected
Owners of small personal boats, many of whom used Roam plans before July’s roaming changes. For the referral program, the plan matters because it is not on Starlink’s list of referral-eligible plans.
What it means for you
Starlink’s referral help article lists the plans a new customer can choose for a referral to count: the Residential tiers and the three Roam plans (100GB, 300GB and Unlimited). Personal Maritime isn’t on that list. A friend who signs up for Personal Maritime through your link should not expect the referral to count; we read the list as exhaustive.
For owners, the referrer side has its own condition: the press reports on the cash option describe referrers as customers on an active Residential or Roam plan. If you move your own service from Roam to Personal Maritime, check whether the Referrals tab is still in your account before you share.
What to do now
If a boating friend asks for your link, tell them a referral only counts on a Residential or Roam plan. If you switch your own service to Personal Maritime, open the Referrals section of your account first and note what it shows.
What stays the same
The list of referral-eligible plans, the reward and the free month are unchanged. Roam plans still count for referrals.
What we don’t know yet
Whether Starlink will add Personal Maritime to the referral list, whether the plan will be sold publicly in the US, and whether existing Roam boaters will be moved. We haven’t read the email ourselves.
How to check it yourself
The referral-eligible plan list is in Starlink’s help article “How do I use a referral link?”; read it before a boating friend orders. Personal Maritime was offered by email to selected owners and, per both reports, wasn’t on the public shop page when they were written. If you received the email, keep it: it is the only record of the terms you were offered.