On-board communication on maritime vessels is improving crew welfare, by giving them the opportunity to speak with their families when they are away for months on end. It also gives access to facilities like telemedicine.
How is crew welfare being improved through on-board communications on ships?
Keith Murray,
Product Manager, Thuraya Telecommunications
It allows crew to stay in touch with family and friends, via social media, video calls and affordable VoIP voice calls. All of these services are available through Thuraya Atlas IP or Thuraya Orion IP. With shorter turnaround times in ports and the drive to work ships even harder in order to maximise profit, crews are spending less time on land. Retaining good qualified crew is key to the operational success of a vessel, and a happy crew is more likely to stay loyal to the company.
Peter Broadhurst,
Vice President, Service Development Inmarsat Maritime
The Fleet Xpress service delivers the guaranteed high-speed connectivity that is essential to support the safest and most efficient vessel operations, anywhere in the world. In parallel, it will match the personal connectivity needs of even the most demanding modern seafarer, delivering services previously available only on shore.
On average, seafarers spend 7.4 months per year at sea. These are also months away from family and friends, when lack of communications with the outside world places the extra burden of isolation on both performance and wellbeing. A recent survey (The 2015 Crew Connectivity Survey, published by FutureNautics) reported that 73% of seafarers included ship-shore connectivity as a factor in their choice of employer, also noting that 77% of them bring a smartphone on board (compared to 57% in 2014).
Nick Farrell,
Director, Rock Seven
Crew welfare has become more of a priority, and has become more expected. Our RockFLEET product provides facilities for this, allowing crew to use their Bluetooth-connected devices to send and receive short emails and text messages back home without costing the operating company anything. Also, for RockFLEET users, posting to Facebook and sending tweets is free, wherever they are in the world.
Jan Michelsen,
VP Maritime Business Development, Cobham SATCOM
As more vessels deploy VSAT and costs come down, more bandwidth is becoming available for crew use. A shipping company that understands the cost and continuity benefits of a happy crew will ensure that their people have easy, low-cost voice and data. VSAT even makes it possible to provide free access to the internet. Of course, as expectations from seafarers grow, it becomes more important for shipping companies to provide a reliable service, so they have to choose the right service provider for them and indeed ensure they have reliable equipment on board.
Cobhams role in this is to develop highly reliable antenna systems that provide the vital link to the satellite, even in extreme conditions. We achieve market-leading reliability through innovative antenna design, the use of high-quality materials and in-depth testing using a unique vessel motion simulator platform. This allows us to test antennas in-house for hundreds of hours, which is not possible when just conducting sea trials. The result is technology that enables crew to make calls or access the web without interruption, which in turn supports the shipping companys crew welfare profile.
What other applications can be improved through on-board communications on vessels?
Keith Murray,
Product Manager, Thuraya Telecommunications
Improved communications systems can enable services such as telemedicine, tele-engineering and remote learning. In addition to supporting this type of access to subject matter experts while at sea, Thurayas products and solutions provide many other types of applications, such as giving crew access to remote learning, allowing them to brush up on their skills and to learn new ones.
Peter Broadhurst,
Vice President, Service Development Inmarsat Maritime
The improved connectivity possible with Fleet Xpress releases the power of the shipping data revolution. It also enables use of other applications that can deliver real benefits in operational efficiency. These include real-time remote diagnostics, video surveillance for improved safety, security and compliance, enhanced IT security, and better crew management and welfare services, such as telemedicine and onboard training.
In addition, the launch of Fleet Xpress is likely to prove pivotal in the uptake of Fleet Media, Inmarsat Maritimes innovative multilingual entertainment solution for ship crews. Fleet Media offers on-demand movies, news, TV and sports that can be watched on laptops, PCs, or iOS and Android devices anytime, anywhere on board with a Wi-Fi or physical network connection. Keeping crew informed and entertained can help reduce staff turnover and boost job satisfaction and morale.
Nick Farrell,
Director, Rock Seven
Machine-to-machine data (M2M), vessel tracking for safety, security and logistics, catch reporting for fisheries and electronic forms can all be done via RockFLEET, with its low hardware and airtime costs in addition to very small form factor. The system doesnt work with high bandwidth, so isnt part of the maritime big data revolution, but not all applications and vessels require that. RockFLEET fits a large number of users who need low-cost, low-bandwidth global messaging and tracking.
Jan Michelsen,
VP Maritime Business Development, Cobham SATCOM
A lot of shipping companies migrate to VSAT, as the extra bandwidth and fixed costs allow them access to a wide range of systems that can help them operate more efficiently. These systems monitor on-board equipment and feed the data back to experts who can, i.e., use it to significantly reduce fuel costs or be more on the ball in proactive maintenance of engines or electronic equipment. Both of these applications can save millions of dollars a year, especially when you consider that fuel is the single biggest cost of operating a vessel or fleet by far. A few percentage points saved on fuel can significantly boost your bottom line.
Applications for maritime users are essentially driven by the users requirements and the ability of vendors to develop the systems that the industry needs. The sky really is the limit. A good example of a unique application for VSAT happened in July last year. Cobham SATCOM partner Tototheo deployed a SAILOR 900 VSAT system in support of the Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Larnaca and the large-scale multinational search and rescue (SAR) exercise NEMESIS 2015. The exercise took place within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cyprus on 1 July. Air and naval search and rescue units, as well as personnel from Cyprus, the state of Israel, Greece and the USA, took part.
The objective of NEMESIS 2015 was to simulate the planning, preparation and execution of a multinational joint search and rescue exercise designed to prepare the teams for effective response in search and rescue missions and other humanitarian operations in the region. The exercise involved a number of air and sea craft: nine warships, an oil platform, an oil tanker, antipollution vessels, two Port & Marine Police ships, four helicopters and two airplanes. The scenario itself was divided into four phases and dealt with a serious accident in open sea, within an area where oil & gas rigs are operating along with their supporting vessels.
To enable the greatest learning from the exercise, a Cobham SAILOR 900 VSAT antenna system was installed on the EDT Flying Enterprise off-shore supply vessel. With the worlds most advanced and reliable antenna of its class on board, the official camera crew were able to transfer live high definition video footage of the exercise to coordinators and stakeholders in the rescue coordination centre.
