The 2018 Crew Connectivity survey of 6,000 serving crewmembers by Futurenautics, sponsored by KVH and Intelsat, has found that the application of technology in operations is growing in perceived importance, and that access to the internet at sea “strongly influences” the decisions of some 92 per cent of seafarers about where to work.

According to the report, approximately 75 per cent of seafarers can now use the internet at sea, which is a rise of 32 per cent or over half a million more crew (520,000, to be exact) since the last survey three years ago.

The report says that 95 per cent of seafarers view connectivity as having a positive effect on onboard safety, an increase of 72 per cent since the 2015 survey, while 69 per cent 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 per cent who see it as a threat.

“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 chief executive officer.

“We are delighted to support this report, which reinforces the importance of connectivity and how it is changing the life of the individual seafarer.”

In addition to sponsorship by KVH and Intelsat, the report received support from maritime organisations BIMCO, Alpha Navigation, PTC, ISWAN and InterManager.