The ‘Crew Connectivity 2018 Survey Report’, sponsored by KVH Industries and Intelsat, showed increased digital transformation in the maritime industry.
This report is based on a survey of nearly 6,000 serving seafarers, the largest number to date to complete the wide-ranging questionnaire, which covered on board attitudes to the increasing digital technology.
According to the survey, the number of seafarers using the Internet at sea rose by 32% or 520,000 more crew, since the last survey was conducted three years ago. The first survey took place in 2012.
“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,” said Futurenautics CEO, Roger Adamson. “The Crew Connectivity survey is a clear demonstration of that process in action.”
The report showed a change in mindset among seafarers regarding many aspects of connectivity.
Among the key findings:
• 92% of seafarers reported that Internet access strongly influences their decision on where to work, up from 78% in previous years.
• 95% of seafarers view connectivity as having a positive effect on on board safety, an increase of 72% since the 2015 survey.
• 69% of respondents view the increasing use of big data and analytics as a positive opportunity for their jobs in the next five years, versus 17% who see it as a threat.
On average the respondents took three devices with them on board a ship - a smartphone (72%), followed by a smart watch and/or a fitness tracker at around 20% each.
It was found that 61% of the respondents had permanent access to digital connectivity on board, 38% had access some of the time, while the remaining 2% had no access at all.
“This is an extremely exciting time for the maritime industry, as digitalisation begins to transform ship operations and open up many opportunities to keep this industry vital,”said Martin Kits van Heyningen, KVH’s CEO. “We are delighted to support this report, which reinforces the importance of connectivity and how it is changing the life of the individual seafarer.”
“This report further emphasises the need and desire—from shipping crews to passengers—to have robust, flexible networks that enable always-on connectivity,” said Shane Rossbacher, Intelsat’s director of maritime product management. “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.”
In addition to sponsorship by KVH and Intelsat, the report received support from leading maritime organisations - BIMCO, Alpha Navigation, PTC, ISWAN and InterManager.