Most importantly to service providers, Astrium’s “Crew Communications 2012 Survey” also revealed that many seafarers are prepared to pay for connectivity. 

The study, which was commissioned by Astrium Services to fill the market gap in up-to-date data on crew communications requirements and supported by consultants Stark Moore McMillan, questioned 960 Filipino seafarers – 12 percent of them officers, with the remaining 88 percent comprised of general crew – during the third and fourth quarters of 2012. 

   Astrium Services Senior Product Manager of Crew Communications Tilmann Michalke said that the main objective of the survey was to establish a clear picture of current crew communication requirements, the level of access to communications, what crew paid for these services and how they paid for them. 

   “Many shipping companies face staff retention issues and communication services can represent an attractive incentive to crew members,” Michalke said in the study. “The popularity of using one’s own device shows that owners investing in vessel-wide broadband connectivity and corresponding Wi-Fi connections to provide either free or low-cost Internet access will experience return in terms of crew recruitment and retention. This is especially important considering the survey whitepaper states that the lack of qualified officers continues to grow, from a deficit of 10,000 to 13,000 in the period between 2005 and 2010.”

   In exploring the availability of communications for crew, 68 percent of seafarers confirmed in the survey that they can now use some form of communication service most or all of the time when at sea. Almost all crew confirmed that they are at least occasionally able to make voice calls using a vessel’s satcoms system.

   Astrium has a number of solutions available to the maritime connectivity market. The company’s survey aimed to show a clear emergence of on-board hybrid networks using both VSAT and MSS services, empowering owners to provide cost-effective connectivity required to support changing communication usage patterns. Web compression and filtering solutions were also suggested as a method to help control communication costs and make crew communications affordable. 

   Astrium Services’ Head of Maritime Services Tore Morten Olsen noted that shipping companies that are able to offer strong crew welfare packages are better positioned to recruit from the limited pool of talent and increase staff loyalty.

   “It’s clear to see that seafarers are keen to be able to communicate with friends and family when they are at sea, just as easily as they could at home. Offering this capability supports any operator’s crew welfare strategy,” said Morten Olsen. “This new data will assist us in developing innovative new solutions that will directly meet future user requirements. Likewise, with a stronger understanding of what drives the user, we can support operators through the on-going development of our core connectivity services and value added services.”