Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, seafarers have served as frontline workers maintaining the flow of essential goods, such as food and medical supplies.
Given the entry restrictions imposed by many countries over the past year and a half, ships and crews have spent longer hours, days and months waiting offshore.
Onboard, modern maritime communication has helped keep seafarers safe and relatively comfortable, keeping them in touch with their families and updated on the evolution of the pandemic.
While radio and satellite phones remain vital tools, today's seafarers also rely on digitally integrated systems and networks that would have been unimaginable just a decade or two ago.
Even as digital systems become commonplace, maritime communication needs are sure to keep evolving.
For seafarers, coastal communities, and the shipping industry worldwide, 30 September marks World Maritime Day. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), for its part, reaffirms its commitment to assist its member states and stakeholders, including seafarers, in this vital area.
Shaping a safer future at sea
ITU aims to facilitate technology use to improve safety and security at sea, both through the allocation and protection of dedicated radio frequency spectrum and by developing global standards for maritime radio systems. As the United Nations specialized agency for digital technologies, it convenes high-level global meetings and facilitates international cooperation on key maritime communication issues.
In Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt in 2019, at the last World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19), ITU Member States took important decisions to enhance safety at sea improving the efficiency of spectrum use for maritime communication.
The internationally recognized Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), developed jointly by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and ITU, alerts shore-based search and rescue services when a ship needs help and notifies vessels in the vicinity to provide assistance.
WRC-19 allocated additional spectrum for the GMDSS, allowing expanded coverage and enhanced capabilities. These WRC-19 decisions include the addition of a non-geostationary satellite system which provides global services that will significantly improve satellite distress and safety communications in polar regions for seafarers.
