In an e-mail interview with IPS, Sarah Finke – the Women’s Officer at the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) – discusses some of the challenges faced by women on ships, and the role of unions in this tough sector. The ITF includes 654 unions representing about 4.5 million transport workers in 148 countries.

IPS: The ITF says “millions of women work in the transport industry world-wide”. How many of these are in the maritime sector?

Sarah Finke: We estimate that there are around 23,000 women seafarers worldwide, representing a low 2 percent of the total workforce, and clustered disproportionately in the ferry and cruise sectors, and in service roles. The total number is slowly increasing, as is women’s representation in the ranks of ships’ officers and masters. But it is an unacceptably slow process, and one that trade unions have to lead and drag forward.

IPS: Which countries ‘produce’ more women seafarers?

SF: It largely shadows the situation for men, with the Philippines and Indonesia (the biggest seafaring nations in the world) ranking highest, but also with significant numbers of Eastern Europeans, which reflects that region’s history of cruising and cruise fleets.

IPS: In 2005, at a conference in Rio de Janeiro, a group of 40 female seafarers called for greater attention to job prospects for women and discrimination. “Sexual harassment is a reality for many women at sea,” says a recent International Labour Organisation (ILO) report. Has anything changed?

SF: It will take a new research project to establish an improvement on the ground, but there are hopeful signs. Positive measures on bullying and harassment have been introduced by European ship owners and by unions in the European Transport Workers’ Federation, the ITF’s European arm. There has also been real campaigning by our affiliated unions for equality and against violence towards women.

IPS: They also noted that “the flag of convenience system is a barrier to the promotion of gender equality, and that the effects of outsourcing to ever cheaper labour markets has made the situation worse.” Why is this connected to equality?

SF: Because terms and conditions may be inferior, denying job and promotion opportunities. They are governed by the legislation of the flag state, which may not give any rights at all. Family-friendly policies and measures covering pregnancy and maternity vary widely, along with the right to return to work after having a child.

However, minimum rights in equality and pregnancy are included in ITF approved agreements, which we seek to put in place on FOC (flag of convenience) vessels in order to ensure basic protections for those working on them.

IPS: Could you give an example of the sort of obstacles women encounter?

SF: Two examples with names omitted for obvious reasons: A woman cook on an FOC ship was told verbally by the master that it was time for her holidays and she could sign off the ship for six weeks. She had no written contract. Another colleague secretly told her the managing agent had stated that it was not company policy to employ women on board. The ITF intervened on her behalf and got her reinstated in her job.

A stewardess on another FOC cruise ship, who was four months pregnant, was signed off. She was happy about this but unhappy that the company did not want to pay her repatriation expenses. The ITF got the company to pay.

IPS: According to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the estimated number of women at sea in the world remains low, but seafarers’ unions’ female membership is higher in comparison, at around 6 percent…

SF: Probably because there are specific issues regarding woman and work – for example sexual harassment, inequality and maternity right – which unions can help with. The figures also reflect a high number of women in the cruise and ferry sector in Northern Europe, where union membership is traditionally higher than in many other areas. For example around 30 percent of the seafaring membership of the Seko Swedish general workers’ union (the Swedish Union for Service and Communications Employees) are women: 2,754 out of 7,367.

IPS: According to female seafarers, unions need to give women more voice. What presence do they have at the ITF?

SF: The ITF Executive Board has 40 members, of who seven are women. A 30-strong women’s committee advises the Board and provides elected regional and sectional representatives who feed in to all the ITF’s work. An example would be Jaqueline Smith, president of the Norwegian Seafarers’ Union. Nine out of the ITF’s 130 inspectors – who undertake some of the ITF’s most dangerous and difficult work – are women.

IPS: Seafaring is a dangerous profession: accidents happen, ships are hijacked … Do these incidents pose special problems for women?

SF: We’re not aware of many women having been among the pirated vessels, except, possibly on the Faina (hijacked in Gulf of Aden by Somali pirates last year with 20 Ukrainian, Latvian and Russian sailors on board). There were no reports of special problems. Going back beyond the current wave of attacks, there was the case of Deborah Harrison, a British Numast (the National Union of Marine, Aviation and Shipping Transport Officers, now Nautilus), who was used as a human shield by hijackers in Brazil (in 1998), and was shot and seriously wounded as a result (source: www.pww.org).

In terms of volume, 90% of the freight exchanges of Europe with the rest of the world are seaborne. Maritime transport services, including off-shore activities, are essential for helping European companies compete globally. Among EU Member States, short sea shipping is a key element in reducing congestion, ensuring territorial cohesion and promoting the sustainable development of the European continent. With more than 400 million sea passengers a year travelling through European ports, passenger ships and ferry services have a direct impact on the quality of life of citizens in islands and peripheral regions.

Shipping represents one of Europe’s largest export industries, providing deep sea transport services between Europe and the rest of the world, as well as in cross trades between third countries. European shipping is present in all segments of the sector in all regions of the planet. Transport of freight and passengers at sea generated € 24.7 billion in 2006 as a net contribution to the EU balance of payments. In terms of added value, traditional maritime sectors represent a share of 1.09% in the total GDP of the EU-27 and Norway. Maritime transport activities’ related employment in Europe amounts to 1.5 million people. Some 70% of shipping related jobs are onshore – in shipbuilding, naval architecture, science, engineering, electronics, cargo-handling and logistics.

Challenges and opportunities for maritime transport in the next 10 years

The continuous success of European shipping in world markets cannot be taken for granted. A number of major challenges have been identified by experts consulted by the Commission. The current crisis of the international financial system, its impact on the real economy and the sluggish recovery prospects in different parts of the world have affected seaborne trade and thus the different branches of the shipping industry.

Moreover, recent developments in the energy markets, including the cut of pipelines for gas supplies, have underlined the strategic importance of LNG tanker-ships for ensuring a stable and long-term solution to guarantee reliable energy supplies to the EU. In a wider context, those developments remind the importance of the fleet, in all its branches of activity, for the well being of the European citizens and of the European economy as a whole.

Operators involved in the provision of maritime transport services and the European maritime transport as such will face significant challenges in the years to come. They will have to cope with the fluctuations in sea-borne trade, the negative impact of the financial crisis and other external factors, such as the risk of overcapacity in certain market segments, the rise of protectionist measures affecting world trade, environmental concerns related to climate change, volatility in energy and other commodities markets and loss of European maritime know-how because of the scarcity of skilled human resources.

Moreover, competitive advantages given by third countries to shipping businesses entail a real risk of de-localisation of head offices and maritime industries outside Europe. Often the position of European operators is undermined by unfair competition, which results from lax enforcement of safety, security, environmental and social standards in certain parts of the world. Achieving effective governance of maritime affairs and an international fair level playing field for maritime transport remains a crucial challenge to the global community.

Strategic options at European level

The EU’s sustainable transport policy aims at addressing the economic, social and environmental needs of our society. An efficient maritime transportation system is essential for Europe’s prosperity, having significant impacts on economic growth, social development and the environment.

In autumn 2007, after having consulted the main stakeholders of the sector, the Commission started a strategic review of the EU’s integrated maritime policy, examining also the challenges European and international maritime transport will face in the next ten years.

This work has included the conduct of a prospective study analysing trends and signals of change in the maritime sector (the so-called ’shipping scenarios’ for 2018). It has also involved consultation with experts from maritime administrations in the Member States and Norway, as well as advice from a group of senior industry leaders representing different interests within the maritime transport industries.

The prospective study “Benchmarking strategic options for European shipping and for the European maritime transport system in the horizon 2008-2018″ can be downloaded from the following address:

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/maritime/studies/index_en.htm

The three basic shipping scenarios for the year 2018 (”Asian Phoenix”, “Break Point” and “Global Fissures”) are briefly described in annex.

The recommendations of the group of senior shipping professionals (see IP/08/760 of 19/05/2008) present an industry opinion on the more urgent issues to be addressed and on the way the EU could intervene. The recommendations can be downloaded from:

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/maritime/policy/index_en.htm

In both cases, two major issues guided the reflection:

• By 2018, European shipping transport services should be at least as efficient, reliable and sustainable as today. There should be sufficient transport capacity available and the port and port hinterland capacities should be able to cope with increased cargo volumes.
• By 2018, the shipping industry should be at least as competitive as today, and have an equally strong or better position on the global markets.

Strategic recommendations

Several important conclusions come from this strategic review exercise. First of all, the recovery of the world economy from the current financial crisis would lead to a growth in international trade and will require a maritime transport system able to deliver advanced logistic solutions. Moreover, in a recession period, short sea shipping is a perfect vehicle for stimulating intra-EU trade exchanges and thus supporting recovery of growth in the EU and its neighbouring countries.

Overall, the next ten years may offer a unique opportunity to reinforce the competitiveness of European shipping, and to strengthen its contribution to the objectives of a sustainable European transport policy.

The strategic recommendations concern seven main issues:

• Competitive European shipping: The priority is to achieve and maintain an attractive framework for quality shipping and quality operators in Europe including financial measures. This will help maritime transport achieve sustainable development goals. Such a framework would also help the sector adapt to adverse financial conditions and to the slow-down in growth of the world’s sea-borne trades.
• Human Factor: There is a genuine European interest in making maritime professions more attractive to young people and thus improving employment of seafarers. Positive measures may include facilitating life-long career prospects in the maritime clusters; enhancing the image of shipping; supporting the work of international organisation (IMO and ILO) on fair treatment of seafarers; and implementing simplification measures which aim at reducing the administrative burden on masters and senior ship officers.
• Greener Maritime Transport: The EU should encourage all actors to promote green solutions in maritime transport. The Commission, the Member States and the European maritime industry should be working together towards the long-term objective of “zero-waste, zero-emissions”. The measures announced in the Greening Transport Package should be fully implemented.
• A safe and secure system: We should give priority to the enforcement of existing Community and international rules and the speedy implementation of measures introduced with the 3rd maritime safety package. The work already started should be completed by establishing a comprehensive framework for security measures in terms of prevention, reaction capacity and resilience.
• International Scene: The global challenges faced by the shipping and maritime industries demand convincing answers from the international community. The Commission and the Member States may be a real driving force for change towards a comprehensive international regulatory framework for shipping, adapted to the challenges of the 21st century.
• Short Sea Shipping and Ports: Further economic integration of the EEA Member States and of the neighbouring countries will have positive impact on maritime transport connections within the EU. It should be noted that sea-trade normally grows even in periods of business contraction. In the 2018 horizon, the European economy should recover from the current stagnation. Positive measures in support of short sea shipping should also help intensify sea-exchanges in all the European maritime façades. These measures will include the creation of a European Maritime Transport Space without Barriers the full deployment of the Motorways of the Seas but also the implementation of measures for port investment and performance. In all cases, the principles of open markets, fair competition and greening transport should be respected.
• Innovation and technological development: The competitiveness of the European maritime industries and their capacity to meet the environmental, energy, safety and human challenges is positively influenced by increased efforts in research and innovation. There is wide scope for improving energy efficiency in ships, reducing environmental impact, minimising the risks of accidents or providing better quality of life at sea. In the years to come, innovation and technological research and development in shipping should be further promoted. A framework of reference should be introduced for the deployment of “e-Maritime” services at European and global levels.

The Communication on the EU Maritime Transport Strategy 2018 is addressed to the European Parliament and the Council. In the light of their opinion and conclusions, the Commission will continue to look for concrete ways to implement the recommendations. This work will involve close cooperation with all interested parties (source: http://europa.eu).

University of the Philippines professor Lucia Palpal-latoc Tangi came to this conclusion after in-depth interviews with a dozen women seafarers, most of whom are working as bar waitresses, utility and massage therapists on passenger and cruise liners.

The discrimination of women seafarers, Tangi claimed, begins from the recruitment stage, when women applicants are already judged based on their youthfulness and beauty, and not on skills.

“Experience is a plus but not imperative, especially when the applicants have a pleasing personality,” Tangi said.

Her conclusion has rattled the male-dominated seafaring industry.

“If there are women seafarers [working in freighters or tankers], there will be just a handful of them,” Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) director Alejandro Padaen was quick to reply during the presentation of Tangi’s paper last September.

Padaen said people should not be misled by government figures that say there are about 6,619 Filipino woman seafarers, since most of them work in passenger liners or cruise ships, both types of which are demanding both men and women to either serve passengers or run the ship.

Working in freighter or cargo vessels is far different from working in passenger and cruise liners, Padaen said. He also said freighter or cargo vessels can only employ between 21 and 23 crew members per sail.
Padaen, however, added that this does not mean there’s no harassment onboard. He assumed that women are too scared to come forward and report the case.

“In my three-year stint as director for POEA’s adjudication division, I encountered just one case.”
Padaen said the case involved a male seafarer stealing the undergarments of his coworker onboard.
That male seafarer, whom he declined to name, was suspended without pay for two years because of the violation.

Safeguards to prevent sexual harassment of women

The four female graduates of MAAP, one of the country’s premier institutions for the seafaring industry, last July are just the latest group to join the increasing number of women in the seafaring industry.
Established a decade ago, MAAP is headed by the local labor union Associated Marine Officers’ Union of the Philippines, private sector Danish Shipowners Association, International Transport Workers Federation, International Maritime Employee Committee, and the Filipino Association of Mariner’s Employment.
All graduates of the school are scholars and handpicked by the principals themselves. This means that all of their graduates will be future officers and will not be given menial jobs.

According to school president Eduardo Ma. Santos, they are treating their women students the same as males.

But there are “safeguards” to prevent them from being sexually harassed by the others, Santos said.
For one, hazing, which he said is usually practiced in other maritime schools, is prohibited.
Students are segregated according to their floors, and students are prohibited from going to floors other than their designated area.

“Women seafarers organize their own symposia on sexual harassment for prevention,” Santos, who is a former Philippine Navy chief, told the OFW Journalism Consortium.

“But there is no discrimination [of gender]. They will take their shipboard training the same as everyone else,” Santos said in a telephone interview.

He added that the name of a seafarer accused of sexual harassment will be disseminated to all maritime agents and vessel operators.

“In the symposia, they always instruct the women to always lock their doors when brushing teeth. Women are also encouraged to cite ways they could avoid harassment or abuse.”

According to Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) executive Siony Flores, addressing women’s concerns onboard a vessel could be as simple as giving them adequate facilities since they have a different biological makeup from men.

Flores, a career PPA employee, was the one of those who established gender and development points in the ports, a sector in the industry considered dominated by men. “We’re only talking of equity on the available resources and not equality,” the PPA Corporate Communications director said.

Flores added they encourage women to organize, especially since the government provides them funding for gender and development projects, as mandated by Women in Development and Nation Building Act.
The law states that at least 5 percent of the budget of an agency goes to gender projects.

But private-sector initiatives for the protection of women are a different matter, she admitted, since resources are “scarce.”

Santos, however, balked when asked if the measures of the maritime sector to prevent harassment of women onboard a vessel are already institutionalized.

Women battling exploitation

IN her working study titled “Pinays On Board: An Exploratory Study on the Working Conditions of Filipino Women Seafarers,” Tangi said women have to battle exploitation, discrimination and sexual harassment when onboard a vessel.

Eleven out of the 12 respondents of the study worked onboard luxury liners and only one worked onboard an oil tanker, Tangi said in an e-mail message to the OFW Journalism Consortium.

Tangi categorized those working in cruise liners and a freighter vessel as both seafarers, but they are differentiated when they go onboard, as the latter type of vessel requires highly skilled, more physically enduring jobs.

A seafarer, she said, refers to any person who is employed or engaged in any activity onboard a seagoing ship navigating the foreign seas other than a government ship used for military or noncommercial purposes.
Thus waitresses, utility and massage therapists are considered seafarers as well.

The study, however, made apples-and-oranges comparisons.

For one, she opined there is discrimination of salary between male and female seafarers.

The women she interviewed said they only earn between $50 (for massage therapist) and $1,000 a month as basic salary. But they can earn between $2,000 and $4,500 a month from tips alone.

Tangi then compared the salary of male seafarers, which she said are more into professional, technical and labor-intensive job onboard.

A ship captain and the ship engineer, depending on the type of vessel, can both earn between $5,200 and $10,000 a month, while the other officers can earn about $2,400 and $8,400 a month.

“The research depicts the systematic discrimination of women in the maritime sector. Since women are assigned to positions or jobs which are reflective or related to their reproductive and nurturing roles, they tend to receive lower pay,” she wrote.

“Women seafarers manage to augment their income through tips and through part-time jobs, such as doing the laundry and cleaning the cabins of Western crew members,” she added.

Tangi faced the same hurdle that the government experience—the unavailability of data regarding women seafarers.

The POEA does not even give details on how many women are in cruise ships or freighter vessels.
Nongovernment groups like the Church-based Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) also do not have records of cases of sexual harassment onboard a freighter vessel nor discrimination issues of women.

“For sure, they will not come out,” said Maria Isa Yñiguez, AOS paralegal aide.

Another Church group, Scalabrini Migration Center, said it does not have any study on female seafarers and all of the data were from those gathered by the POEA.

Lack of protection given to women

TANGI also added points on the long-time debate on the current flag of convenience (FOC) system.
She said such system also put women more at risk since FOC-vessels do not give enough protection to women.

International Transport Workers’ Federation has been alone in its campaign for the abolition of the FOC system to protect the seafarers from exploitation and discrimination.

At the moment, more than half of the world’s merchant ships, as measured by tonnage, are registered under the so-called flags of convenience, more commonly referred to as “open registries.” Traditional reasons for choosing an open register include protection from burdensome income taxes, wage scales and regulations.
While this may be true to some open registries, it is difficult to substantiate generalized arguments against flags of convenience as the establishment of the system was sought by the vessel owners themselves.

In about more than 30 FOC states or nations, the most well known are Panama, Liberia, Bahamas, Malta and Cyprus. Together they control about 45 percent of the shipping tonnage, according to nongovernment group Greenpeace.

“Within the IMO, a treaty only comes into force if the ratifying states together represent the required shipping tonnage. That means that, in fact, FOC states have the power of veto in the IMO,” the IMO web site said.

Tangi said this is one of the things her study would focus on.

“I will be expanding my study to include the history on the deployment of women seafarers. I also intend to interview women from other departments, including engineers and officers, if I am lucky,” she said, adding that she will also interview ship owners to make her study more comprehensive.

“I want to include the entire three Bs in my study—the buyer, the business and the bought.”

Tangi said her study is supported by the views enshrined in the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

The Philippines, as a signatory to the convention, has the duty to ensure that women’s rights are protected even in the maritime industry.

“We are not asking for special treatment for women. We are asking that women should be given an equal opportunity to integrate and excel in a field that they choose. Women’s rights are inalienable rights and should, therefore, be upheld and protected at all times.” (source: www.businessmirror.com.ph).

www.MaritimeJobSearch.com | Shipping, Transportation, and Engineering Jobs

The campaign calls on governments, industry and IMO, supported by ILO and other international organizations, to take specific actions, within their areas of influence, to increase the recruitment of seafarers to tackle the problem.

A recent report issued by maritime industry analysts Drewry Shipping Consultants assessed the current shortfall of officers in the global shipping fleet to be some 34,000, against a total requirement of 498,000. Moreover, based on Drewry’s fleet growth projections, and the assumption that officer supply will only increase at the current rate, the report predicts that, by 2012, the officer shortfall will have grown to 83,900.

“As everyone in shipping is aware, the global shortage of seafarers, especially officers, has already reached significant proportions and is now a source of genuine concern to all involved in the industry,” said IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos, speaking at the launch of the campaign.

The shipping industry can provide the basis for a fulfilling and satisfying life-long career and the problem is one of recruitment, rather than retention in the profession, he added, noting that this required a shift in the public perception of shipping, particularly amongst the young.

“I have long been an advocate of the need to promote the industry and improve its public image. Outside the industry itself, the wider public has little conscious perception of the vital role that shipping plays in everyday life and this, clearly, needs to change,” Mr. Mitropoulos said, adding that all the organizations associated with the ‘Go to Sea!’ campaign were united in wanting to address concerns over the future supply of quality manpower to the shipping industry and in taking positive steps for that purpose.

Amongst specific calls for action in the campaign document, the shipping industry is urged to take the lead and more can to promote itself through the media, in particular the electronic media. The industry should continue to provide support for and endorse campaigns aimed at improving its image and use some key industry figures as examples of career progression. It is also urged to do more to make life on board and away from home more akin to the life enjoyed by others ashore; to encourage women to work in the seafaring profession; and to promote the industry at non maritime-related events.

Governments are asked to give greater prominence to the maritime perspective, by doing more to support and encourage the shipping industry in any initiatives it takes to enhance its image and to remove adverse actions that may damage that image. Maritime training facilities need to be resourced adequately (both in financial and human resource terms) to ensure a supply of competent seafarers. Governments could do much to promote a wider take-up of a sea career through, for example, recognition of sea service instead of compulsory military service, training of jobless persons and promoting the career for women.

IMO itself will develop a page on its public website highlighting the types of career paths available to seafarers, through links to industry sites. While on missions abroad, where practicable, the Secretary-General will visit maritime and non-maritime training facilities and seafarer organizations to express support and address both maritime and non-maritime Government departments to promote shipping and seafaring. And the ILO, which promotes the objective of decent work for all, has adopted several instruments directly relevant to the campaign and will support it in every way possible (source: IMO.org).

The dramatic increase of pirate attacks on merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden has led to parallel cost increases for the shipping industry. Shipping insurance has risen tenfold this year alone. With the added danger pay offered to crews willing to make the journey, pirate ransom demands that reach into the millions, and lengthy negotiations for hijacked ships, if left unaddressed the cost of the piracy boom to the shipping industry – and consumers buying their goods – will only increase.

“Billions of dollars of goods move through the Gulf of Aden each year,” said Bill Matthews, Executive Vice President of Blackwater Worldwide. “We have been contacted by ship owners who say they need our help in making sure those goods get to their destination safely. The McArthur can help us accomplish that.”

Some shippers have taken the step of arming their crews, or hiring private security to ride onboard cargo ships. Rather than having armed guards on a cargo vessel, the McArthur’s ability to accompany a ship and deploy helicopters to patrol the area provides a safer option for the shipping industry.

The McArthur was reconfigured and modified in 2006 and is now a Blackwater Worldwide Maritime Security Support Craft. The McArthur is a multi-purpose maritime vessel designed to support military and law enforcement training, peacekeeping, and stability operations worldwide. It is fully equipped with a helo deck and can store 4,100 gallons of helo fuel. Blackwater’s aviation affiliate can provide the helicopters, pilots, and maintenance required to support escort missions in the Gulf of Aden.
As a company founded and run by former Navy SEALs, with a 50,000-person database of former military and law enforcement professionals, Blackwater is uniquely positioned to assist the shipping industry in the Gulf of Aden and elsewhere.

The International Maritime Bureau estimates that more than 70 ships have been attacked off Somalia since January. As of October 15, 2008, 11 ships and 200 crew members were still being held for ransom (source: frontierindia.net).

The way business is conducted has changed significantly since the advent of Inmarsat, with an emphasis on speed, just-in-time delivery and always-on communications. Satellite communications is one of the underpinnings of the commercial shipping industry, allowing the word “global” to become a meaningful adjective to the word “economy”.

What exactly is the maritime market for satellite services and how big is it? What types of satellite services are available? What applications are fueling demand for bandwidth? And what does the future hold for maritime satcoms?

Satcoms on the High Seas

The maritime market for satellite services includes a number of distinct segments, including: commercial shipping, cruise lines, energy, fishing, yachts and military, each with a distinct set of needs, and according to the “The Comsys Maritime VSAT Report,” released in May, the market generated $400 million in revenues in 2007. Commercial shipping, cruise lines and energy market segments are the three largest market segments by revenue and by bandwidth consumed, and each has shown significant growth throughout the last five years. The uptake of satellite services in the fishing industry is growing but bandwidth demands are not nearly as large, while the global yachting market has shown a steady appetite for satellite services even when the soft U.S. market is factored in.

Inmarsat was formed in 1979 to provide commercial satellite services to the maritime industry. The organization was consortium of 80-plus seafaring nations and operated a constellation of satellites which blanketed the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans with L-band coverage. Originally, Inmarsat’s core services were circuit switched voice and Telex, but as application connectivity grew, the organization introduced new services providing higher data throughputs. Inmarsat was privatized in 1999, and the new Inmarsat has rolled out services to meet customer demand but the company faces intense competition in the maritime market it once dominated.

Traditionally, the industry has been slow to adopt new technologies, however new business dynamics are forcing the entire market to adjust. L-band service providers Iridium, Thuraya, and Globalstar have launched services aimed at maritime users and have begun to eat into Inmarsat’s market share. The development of stabilized platforms, which allow VSAT antennas to remain locked on a satellite even though the ships they are attached to are rolling or pitching from side to side, allowed even more competition, and now Inmarsat is facing a new generation of competitors that are providing C- and Ku-band VSAT offerings.

One of the largest hurdles the maritime industry faces is hiring and retaining qualified crews. Going to sea has always had a romantic connotation, but Generation X is not as eager to live on a ship for weeks at a time without any contact with the outside world. Neither are passengers on cruise ships. No longer are they happy to get away from it all, as vacationers want to surf the Web and make cell phone calls between ports of call. “One of the underlying drivers in our market is the need to retain trained crews,” says Michiel Meijer, maritime marketing manager, Stratos. “There is a shortage of trained crews and shipping companies have realized that morale and entertainment is very important to employee retention. Seamen want the ability to call home and talk with loved ones and send and receive e-mails. This is driving usage and demand is still growing.”

“Crew retention and moral has become a huge issue for shipping companies,” says Carl Novello, senior technical manager at CapRock. “One popular trend is the deployment of picocells on ships. The picocells connect to broadband VSATs, and the cell phone traffic is backhauled back to shore via satellite. The picocells allow crew members to use their existing cell phones to call home. In the future, we may be able to use the picocells to gather data remotely for [supervisory control and data acquisition] and asset monitoring applications.”

Another driving factor is automation. Remote monitoring systems for navigation and engines allow shipping companies to keep track of a ship’s health remotely. Two decades ago a commercial shipping vessel would go to sea with a crew of 40. Today the number is half of that. The Maersk Emma, one of the shipping company’s newest container transport vessels capable of hauling 30,000 containers, only requires a crew of 15,” says Meijer. “The second major driver is remote management. Shipping firms must find ways to do more with fewer people. Navigation systems and engine monitoring systems allow expert systems on shore to support the crew. But these systems require at least 64K of bandwidth and IP always-on connectivity,” he says.

The increasing use of automation makes a ship’s information technology infrastructure and network connectivity extremely important. Advanced out-of-band network management systems such as the Envoy system made by Uplogix allow a shipping line to manage a ship’s entire infrastructure while it is at sea, even if the main VSAT link is down. The ability to monitor satellite modems, stabilized antennas, routers, switches, servers and PBXs for anomalies, upgrade operating systems, and reboot equipment automatically improves network uptime and minimizes the amount of information technology training for crews. “Shipping companies are rolling out [enterprise resource planning] applications, which require constant connectivity,” says Novello. “In essence, they require an office at sea. These applications allow for administration duties and purchasing to be done while the ship is at sea.”

Shipping companies are not the only fleet managers faced with employee retention and moral. Navies around the world face the same issue. Cell phone and Internet connectivity, as well as marine TVRO systems, are being deployed to improve the quality of life for sailors.
Stabilized VSAT Antennas

Stabilized antenna systems are a critical component to most maritime satellite services. Although there are different designs, antennas generally are gimbaled so they can twist and turn in multiple directions at once. Using inputs from a gyroscope or GPS compass to give it perspective, a stabilized platform makes constant adjustments to keep the antenna pointed at the satellite. Saltwater and electronic components are not a match made in heaven, so a radome is employed to keep waves, spray and mist off the antenna system.

“Shipping companies are rolling out [enterprise resource planning] applications, which require constant connectivity. In essence, they require an office at sea.”

— Novello, CapRock

Sea Tel is the established market leader in stabilized VSAT platforms, according to Comsys, with nearly 72 percent market share. Orbit Marine of Israel is the second largest supplier of stabilized VSAT antennas with more than 17 percent of the market. The remaining 11 percent of the market is made up of a number of companies, including Schlumberger, the global oil field service firm that manufactures stabilized antennas for its own use. Comsys noted that shipping companies demand service centers in ports worldwide, creating a significant barrier to entry for competitors. With the possible exception of Schlumberger which does not generally market its antennas outside the company, look for Sea Tel and Orbit to continue to dominate the market for stabilized antennas.

Finding room on a ship, barge, ferry or drilling rig to securely mount a stabilized VSAT antenna system, which might be as much as 12 feet in diameter depending on its frequency and antenna size, always is a challenge. One intriguing new competitor to arrive on the scene is KVH, which produces the TracPhone V7, which uses a 60-centimeter stabilized antenna. The antenna uses spread spectrum technology and KVH has partnered with ViaSat and SES Americom to deliver a turnkey service known as mini-VSAT Broadband Service. The service covers coastal regions and will be expanded in the near future to cover important shipping lanes. KVH’s antenna requires just two men to lift, while competitors systems require a crane to lift hardware in place, thereby mandating that VSAT systems only be installed while a ship is in port for an extended period.
Service Providers

As the market for maritime satellite services has expanded the number of service providers has risen as well. Comsys estimates that 20 percent of nearly 150,000 vessels identified are untapped potential customers for VSAT services, and the number of VSAT operators who now target the maritime market has grown from around 10 a few years ago to more 90 today.

In 2007, Inmarsat launched its Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) services, and in a move that surprised some, chose to target the land market first rather than the maritime market. “With Inmarsat increasingly aware of the competition it was facing from VSAT services, it was therefore a big surprise to us that, when making the decision on its fourth-generation satellite system, the organization decided to concentrate its service and development on land-based services,” says Simon Bull, senior analyst at U.K.-based Comsys and author of “The Comsys Maritime VSAT Report.” “With approximately 60 percent of its revenues derived from maritime and one of its great differentiators being its global service it almost beggars belief that the company decided not to provide a maritime version of BGAN nor a global service, preferring to concentrate on the land masses. The magnitude of this mistake has only just begun to be corrected.” Leveraging its new constellation of I-4 satellites, Inmarsat introduced FleetBroadband in 2008. Two different types of terminals are available; one supports IP connectivity up to 284 kilobits per second (kbps) while the second supports speeds up to 432 kbps.

In October, Iridium introduced a competitive service called OpenPort and touts the service’s global coverage, including north and south poles. OpenPort’s shipboard equipment uses an omnidirectional antenna, which eliminates the need for an expensive stabilized antenna. The service can deliver IP connections between 9.6 kbps to 128 kbps. Thuraya provides maritime services on a regional basis including the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Arabian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.

During the early 1980s, Inmarsat was the sovereign of the seas, charging $10 per minute for voice and telex connectivity. The energy industry consumed large amounts of Inmarsat services and monthly bills exceeding $30,000 per drilling rig were common. Energy companies were quick to adopt VSAT services using stabilized antennas. Over the last 20 years, companies such as CapRock, Schlumberger, Stratos and Broadpoint have expanded beyond the Gulf of Mexico to provide communication services. With a global reach, these companies expanded into commercial shipping and other maritime markets. Conversely, Ship Equip, Vizada (formerly Telenor) and MTN began offering broadband VSAT services to commercial shipping and cruise lines. As these companies grew, they expanded into other areas such as fishing and energy.

The impact of broadband VSAT services on Inmarsat and the maritime industry has been profound, says Bull. “While the penetration into Inmarsat’s market by VSAT operators was and remains small in terms of absolute numbers, VSAT has effectively cream-skimmed the customer base, taking the largest and most valuable users and dominating each of the segments it addresses,” he says. “Inmarsat is still used in the oil and gas rig and supply ship, cruise and ferry markets, but the vast majority of the traffic flows over stabilized C- and Ku-band VSAT systems.

“Inmarsat’s major advantages in the maritime market include its coverage, spectrum, [Global Maritime Distress Safety System] role, distribution and service networks, range of products, price of user equipment and, not least, the company’s established brand and name,” says Bull. “On the downside, the company is limited in terms of the amount of spectrum L-band affords it and this, in turn, means that bandwidth is relatively expensive when compared to [fixed satellite services] capacity. Consequently, Inmarsat’s services are mostly charged by volume — whether this is in minutes or megabits per second — and heavy volume users can face very large monthly bills as a result. Prior to the current liberalized broadband world, this was a limitation, but not a critical one as users the world over viewed communications as an expensive resource which should be used with discretion and control. However, the environment today is very different with high levels of connectivity and low prices available to the majority of the world’s population.”

Claude Rousseau, an analyst with NSR, agrees that Inmarsat faces some challenges. “There are some tough times ahead as they face increased competition from both L-band and VSAT services providers,” he says. “But Inmarsat has provided excellent service over the years and their customers are very loyal to their brand. In the maritime market, your customers tend to stay with you, and you shouldn’t discount the need for narrowband communications in the future, which is where Inmarsat excels. There are large number of vessels that only need limited voice, fax, and e-mail — traditional narrowband applications. Fishing vessels are good example. They don’t have deck space for a stabilized VSAT and their communication needs don’t justify the expense.”

There also is the possibility that Inmarsat may offer VSAT services in the future. In 2004, Inmarsat put forth a commercial framework agreement that all if its distribution partners signed. Earlier this year, Inmarsat signed an option to buy Stratos, one of its distribution partners, when the agreement expires in April. Stratos offers wideband VSAT services to the maritime industry and an acquisition may allow Inmarsat to expand beyond L-band services. There is speculation that Inmarsat could simply be rolling up their distribution partners to eliminate multiple levels of markup on its services and could sell off the broadband division. Add to the mix a potentially hostile takeover attempt on Inmarsat by Harbinger Capital Holdings and the company’s future becomes very interesting.
Future Trends

The maritime industry’s appetite for satellite bandwidth will continue to grow in the future. Orbit, Furuno, Eutelsat and Speedcast jointly have announced the successful sea trial of a new global Ku-band VSAT service. During the trial, a cargo ship sailed from the Atlantic, to the Mediterranean Sea, through the Suez Canal, into the Red Sea and across the Indian Ocean, finally stopping at a port off the Sea of Japan. Throughout its journey, the ship has communications supplied by ubiquitous Ku-band coverage. Marketing plans for the service are expected to be announced soon.

Another trend is larger bandwidths at the high end of the market. Sea Tel currently supports 120-watt solid state power amplifiers but has multiple requests from clients to support antennas which will support 250-watt amplifiers. This anecdotal evidence, combined with land-based bandwidth consumption trends, suggests demand for larger chunks of bandwidth.

In addition to organic growth, there are new maritime regulations coming which will increase demand. The International Maritime Organization (IMO), which operates under the United Nations Charter, has mandated that by 2012 all seagoing vessels be required to have an electronic charting display information system to replace the paper charts used for navigation today. The charts indicate the location of buoys and the depth of the sea floor, but oceans are dynamic and by the time paper charts arrive on a ship, they often are six week out of date. The electronic charting systems use satellite services to download up-to-date charts.

The demand for satellite services in the maritime industry is growing at a double-digit rate and demand is expected to continue in this range for the next several years. There are now a significant number of service providers with annual revenues between $200 million and $600 million. Which company will hit the billion dollar milestone first? (source: satellitetoday.com)

The new rules, however, only address sulfur and nitrogen oxide emissions. Meanwhile, carbon dioxide emissions from the same ships remain a major, and often overlooked, contributor to global warming.

The world’s shipping fleet comprises 300,000 ships, each a city block in length, and transports 90 percent of the world’s trade. In 2007, the fleet emitted nearly twice as much carbon dioxide as all of America’s cars combined. If the fleet were a country, it’d be ranked as the sixth largest producer of CO2, between Japan and Germany.

Not to mention that these ships use the dirtiest fuel available, creating a high percentage of unusable sludge that must be burned.

All in all, cargo ships are a major contributor to global warming, producing great amounts of the carbon dioxide that not only warms the planet but also leads to ocean acidification. The ships also generate black carbon, or soot, which is acutely dangerous to the Arctic. This particulate matter attaches itself to ice, causing the sun’s rays to be absorbed rather than deflected, melting the ice at an ever-faster rate. Faster-melting ice means more passable waters for ships in the Arctic, which means more black carbon, which means faster-melting ice …

No wonder the Arctic is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the planet.

The International Marine Organization’s new rules would begin to cut ships’ sulfur oxide emissions in coastal areas by 2015. But there is one way that cargo ships could easily and instantly reduce their carbon footprint: simply slowing down.

• The IMO has calculated that a speed reduction of just 10 percent by 2010 would result in a 23.3 percent reduction in emissions;
• One shipping company, Hapag-Lloyd, found that slowing ships by 20 percent reduced fuel costs by half;
• Slower cargo ships are roughly 10 times more fuel efficient than trucks and a hundred times more efficient than air transport — but as ship speeds increase, that advantage is wiped out.

In addition, shutting off ship engines in port — in other words, not idling a vehicle equivalent to 2,000 diesel trucks — would significantly reduce emissions. Better ship design that cuts water resistance is a technology that exists and that isn’t yet in common use. And, of course, there’s the dramatic — and not that far-fetched — concept of using kites to save fuel. These are all steps that could be taken much sooner than 2015.

The IMO’s new rules will reduce coastal emissions and protect public health, but they don’t begin to address the larger problem of ship emissions and global warming. The IMO has yet to demonstrate that it has the capacity to tackle this issue. In the meantime, the EPA should take up the slack. And if it doesn’t, well, I know of some conservationists who are already knocking on the EPA’s door (source: http://gristmill.grist.org/).

The centre will serve Liberia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire.

Eight years ago, at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Conference on Search and Rescue and the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System held in Florence, Italy, Liberia was selected to host the Regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) for the five countries.

A multilateral agreement for the center was signed in 2007 by and between the governments of the five countries.

European unions are gathering in Brussels to lobby for increased employment for EU seafarers, standardized working conditions, and against replacement of crew from cheaper labor.

This demonstration is part of a long term campaign and its affiliated unions for a fundamental review of employment for those that are active in the EU maritime sector.

Two days later, October 16, there will be a public seminar at the European Parliament. European commissioners, IMO/ILO representatives, ship owners, ETF members, and other stakeholders are coming together to examine the social dimension of the EU maritime policy.

Philippe Alfonso, ETF Maritime Political Secretary commented: “We need to reverse the decline in the number of EU seafarers and young people entering into a maritime profession. There is no evidence to substantiate that young EU nationals do not wish to seek a maritime career. By providing good living and working conditions and attractive remunerations, the industry can avoid a shortage of skilled personnel”.

He continued: “There is an urgent need to put an end to the discrimination between Seafarers working on board the same vessel on grounds of nationality and/or place of residence. Moreover, European seafarers should no longer be excluded from the EU social and labor legislation applying to other sectors. We are seeking to ensure that their rights are the same as those enjoyed by EU citizens on land.

The ETF hopes that European policy makers are open to the Charter for European Seafarers and for a sustainable maritime industry. The Charters goals are:

• more employment opportunities;
• no social dumping and race to the bottom in salaries;
• equal rights;
• more regulation in the maritime sector including the so-called ‘Manning Directive’;
• safe employment conditions;
• right for social security;
• state pension entitlements.

For more details of the Brussels events and ETF campaign please contact:

Philippe Alfonso, Political Secretary, Maritime Transport, Dockers and Fisheries, ETF.

Tel: +32 (0)2 285 45 84.

Email: p.alfonso@etf-europe.org

ThinkMaritime!