In addition to sponsorship by KVH and Intelsat, the report received support from leading maritime organizations BIMCO, Alpha Navigation, PTC, ISWAN and InterManager, as was mentioned at NASDAQ’s website.
In this regard Futurenautics Maritime specialists interviewed about 6 000 seafarers. For the record this is the largest sample to date today. The satellite communication operators KVH and Intelsat got to be the sponsors of the survey. Alpha Navigation participates in the survey for the second time, distributing the questionnaire among its audience.
In general, the results of the survey have demonstrated that nowadays more and more seafarers have access to communication. Yes, about 75% of them can use the Internet at sea, which is 32% more than according to result of previous research conducted three years ago.
“It’s our belief that collaborating and sharing information can accelerate the pace of transformation in shipping and maritime, and begin to understand and solve big problems,” says Roger Adamson, Futurenautics Maritime’s chief executive officer. “The Crew Connectivity survey is a clear demonstration of that process in action.”
A new survey demonstrates a change in the attitude of seafarers towards the aspect of connectivity. One of the conclusions lies in the fact that 92% of seafarers pay attention to the availability of Internet access on board, before deciding on employment in some company. In the previous survey, this indicator was 78%.
Also, 95% of seafarers believe that connectivity on board positively affects safety. For comparison, in the 2015 research this rate reached 72%.
According to the Crew Connectivity 2018 Survey results, 69% of respondents consider the trend of big data and analytics implementation can positively influence the work process in the next five years. Only 17% of them consider the trend to be a threat.
“This is an extremely exciting time for the maritime industry, as digitalization begins to transform ship operations and open up many opportunities to keep this industry vital,” notes Martin Kits van Heyningen, KVH’s chief executive officer. “We are delighted to support this report, which reinforces the importance of connectivity and how it is changing the life of the individual seafarer.”
In sum, the results of research underscore the need and desire of crew members to have access to reliable networks on board in order to be constantly in touch.
“We are gratified to see that global high throughput services have further enhanced the ability for ship operators to improve the lives of crew members by providing additional services and the ability to stay in touch with home as well as boost the efficiency of vessel operations,” says Shane Rossbacher, Intelsat’s director of maritime product management.
