MAIN HEAD MAIN HEAD IT and seafarer welfare DECK HEAD A recent meeting of the International Committee for Seafarers Welfare in Mexico looked at practical ways information technology can help improve seafarers' quality of life. Digital Ship interviewed ICSW's general secretary Andy Elliott BODY The International Committee on Seafarers' Welfare held a recent seminar in Veracruz, Mexico, from October 6-8, 2003, looking at, among other things, seafarer communications. The workshop was chaired by Stefan Jarlhem, project manager for the ICSW IT service pack feasibility study, assisted by Fatima Borges and Emma Hughes from Inmarsat. The objectives of ICSW are to look at issues connected with seafarers welfare and find ways to improve them, such as through seafarer welfare centres and sometimes ILO legislation. SUBHEAD Build a welfare network One development from the discussion was developing a structured international seafarers welfare system, which would enable structured communication and data sharing between the welfare centres, additionally with common databases about seafarers which the various welfare centres could access. "If a seafarer turns up in Veracruz with a problem - the guy then says he's going to Rio, the port welfare committee in Veracruz has to phone Rio and say, seaman on this ship has got this problem, can you meet him and carry on with helping him," says Andrew Elliot, company secretary of ICSW. By automating this communication using software, it would be much faster and easier, and also help get around language problems; for example the software could be written in several languages. The system could also work to communicate messages to seafarers with urgent news, for example, births, deaths or doctors reports, which for some reason cannot go through the shipboard e-mail system. Seafarers could have medical tests in one seafarer welfare centre, and then at the next port of call, could meet a doctor who can go through the results. "We want a system where a seafarer's centre in Benin can look at a system in Hong Kong without anyone telling them how to do it," says Mr Elliot. The system could be developed into some kind of seafarer portal, so that seafarers can get on the web and access welfare information, some of which is unique to that person. The network could also be used to share information about vessel arrivals, perhaps involving the ship itself, so that the welfare agencies can be prepared and meet the ships if necessary. There are several language problems with communication between different seafarer centres; a structured software system can make this communication easier to make ICSW is keen to put together an information database for seafarers, which can be accessed by the seafarers themselves and the seafarer assistance network, that can be accessed online in seafarer welfare centres around the world. The system could be used to store medical records. SUBHEAD Crew calling ICSW is very keen to encourage crew calling provision, and also making it easier for families to call the ships with urgent messages. It is very keen to encourage systems which allow families to send messages from ships using their mobile phones, which are delivered to the vessels as short text messages. Seafarers are of course extremely keen to have cheap access to shipboard communications, although facilities are very slow to find their way onto ships- this is an issue ICSW is aiming to address. This is an area Inmarsat is involved with, sponsoring a sport program for seafarers as well as getting involved in the ICSW discussion. One issue ICSW has identified is the enormous cost of shipboard satellite communications hardware, which is heavily taxed in South America. Many ships in South America use Inmarsat -A and -C, but wait until the ships go to the US before purchasing any more equipment, where it is much cheaper. The ICSW is lobbying South American governments to reduce taxation demands for shipboard equipment, so governments would thus contribute to seafarer welfare. "The governments aren't aware of how cheaply they could improve the quality of our seafarers," notes Mr Elliot. SUBHEAD Freephone seafarer service ICSW has been aiming to set up an international freephone call system for seafarers, under the "International Seafarers Assistance Network," with the call costs covered by the ICSW. It is also trying to extend this to onboard vessels, so that seafarers can phone a number at any time if they have problems which need sorting out, and the call does not appear on the shipping company's bill. There a technical problems to this; every country currently has a different freephone number system, and Inmarsat has no freephone calling system, even with the calling cost being covered by ISAN. But ICSW is working on these issues. Calls can be diverted to welfare experts best suited to provide help (eg employment, health, family issues, issues related to specific ports). The system has been running for about a year and the call volume is steadily going up as it becomes better known. SUBHEAD Seafarerhelp.org A recent initiative has been seafarerhelp.org, an online directory of facilities related to seafarer welfare which works in any port in the world. The website has all the information which was previously in the printed book of seafarer's welfare activities which ICSW previously published. The online version, of course, is much easier to distribute around the world - it is even a light site so is cheap to access from shipboard satellite connections. Mike Campling 0208 763 3333 extn 2504 07956 395722