Maybe the greatest change to have occurred in the world over the past 20 years is the way in which we all communicate with each other. It’s hard to imagine a world with no internet, emails or mobile phones and it begs the question of how did we ever manage without them?
We managed perfectly well without them is the honest answer, but the communications landscape has now changed to such an extent that anyone born since the mid 1980’s would find a world without using email, mobile phones and social networking sites to keep in touch with family and friends a very odd place indeed.
It is from this generation that the seafarers of the future are going to come and any shipping company wanting to attract the brightest employees is going to have to have to equip its vessels with hardware that can provide the facilities most people under 25 now take for granted.
Gunnar Andre Valle is the Dubai-based director of Norwegian satellite communication company Marlink. The company has been providing integrated communication systems to the maritime industry since 1976 when it opened the Eik Teleport in Norway. Marlink now operates an extensive network of teleports (satellite base stations) and provides a full range of services to maritime companies throughout the world.
“Our core business is providing satellite airtime to business,” he says. “We also support hardware, although we are independent of any brands and offer full activation, billing and collection services and connectivity from all the different market suppliers. For software applications we have a email programme and it has an internet portal called Marlink online.”
Valle believes that any company that has the latest communication devices installed on its vessels is going to be in pole position when it comes to attracting talented staff. “Companies really should think about this,” he stresses.
“It may not seem so important in the current circumstances, but the older generation of seafarers are retiring and young people are coming into the industry who see using IT systems as almost second nature. If they are given the choice between a company who has full access to the latest communication systems and one who hasn’t there are no prizes for guessing which company they are going to choose.”
“We can offer companies a unique opportunity to attract a higher level of employee and become more efficient in their work practices by taking an innovative approach to their communication systems.”
Valle has a point, but maritime companies in the Middle East are not known for embracing change. Valle concedes that this can be a problem when extolling the virtues of investing in the future. “I have been in Dubai for five years now,” he says “And I have found that, compared with Europe, there is a general reluctance from companies in this region to embrace new technology.”
However, as important as attracting and retaining the best staff is to any company, an eye has always got to be kept on the bottom line, especially now. It is no secret that, due to an obvious lack of infrastructure, offshore communication systems rely on satellite technology and are therefore expensive to install and maintain. If you add the cost of buying the actual airtime you can fully understand why many companies believe cutting edge communications technology comes at a price that they are not willing to pay.
“I think that now there is a more competitive environment that now is the time that companies should maybe adopt more new technologies and maybe be a little bit more innovative,” Valle argues. “In regards to cost saving, of course it is true that a small vessel making short journeys will not benefit from the installation of a full satellite communications system. You could never justify the cost in such a case. However, a high-end vessel such as an oil tanker or LPG vessel will benefit. And when you are carrying a US$100 million cargo you cannot afford to take your choice of communication system lightly.”
“Here at Marlink we work hard to ensure that a customer gets the system that is perfect for them,” Valle continues.
“We use simulation software that works out the requirements of the crew – how many minutes of phone calls and internet access they require per day etc – plus the operational requirements of the vessel itself to give the customer an idea of how much a system would cost and whether it is cheaper than what they are currently doing.”
Although investing in a full ‘always on’ VSAT system doesn’t come cheap, there is no denying that you do get a lot for your money. The system can be connected to your onshore network so the vessel can effectively become like a ‘next door’ office. You can also have any IT problems fixed remotely, thus saving on the cost of flying an IT consultant to a ship to carry out repairs and having the system allows companies to effectively budget for a vessel’s communication costs.
“I don’t think that anyone should look at using Marlink’s services from a purely cost perspective,” Valle stresses. “It is true that it can allow companies to budget effectively and offers great potential for savings in some cases, but I think we also offer much more than that.”
