Fleets Facing Need to Improve Crew Morale and Wellbeing Turn to KVH for Content Services
MIDDLETOWN, R.I., Nov. 20, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recognizing the need to keep crew connected to home, family, and popular culture, innovative fleets such as TMS Gas Cardiff of the UK, Nereus Shipping SA in Greece, Tomini Transports LLC in Dubai, and GFS Fleet Management in Dubai have turned to KVH Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KVHI) for content services designed to enhance crew well-being. Content options range from daily local news to blockbuster films, popular TV programming, real-time sports statistics, music, and social engagement through karaoke and other content.
"It's vital to remember that commercial vessels aren't simply floating offices and warehouses but homes for millions of seafarers from diverse cultures," explains Jamie Airs, KVH's Global Content Sales Manager. "Access to news, sports, entertainment, and social interaction all contribute to the positive mental health of crews at sea. Our KVH Link suite of crew content services delivers best-in-class content in various languages while offering an exciting, entertaining experience for the crew on laptops, personal devices, and TVs."
GFS Ship Management FZE, has deployed the KVH Link service aboard 16 vessels. According to Captain (Dr.) Porus Pervez Dalal, Senior Manager/Head of Fleet Personnel, "Ensuring high morale is a priority for us. Crew welfare and mental health is one of our major areas of focus during ship operations. Along with free onboard Wi-Fi, simple access to movies and TV programs is an easy way to achieve this goal. Crews on our KVH Link-equipped vessels can enjoy entertainment and sports coverage off-watch, whether alone in their cabins or with their shipmates in the common space. By offering content like this, we believe we'll reduce crew turnover. Plus, a happy crew can lead to increased efficiency and safer operations."
Beginning with daily news updates from home via email to complete streaming entertainment-style services, KVH offers a spectrum of content solutions so the crew can benefit from these services regardless of the size of the vessel they are working on, from the smallest fishing boat to the largest tanker. KVH Link relies on the KVH ONE® global HTS network along with KVH's award-winning TracNet™ hybrid and TracPhone® VSAT terminals to deliver daily TV news in more than 12 languages along with more than 60 different print news editions in more than 20 languages along with new movies, TV programming, music, trending social videos, and sports coverage and statistics. KVH Link delivers content without any impact on the vessel's VSAT performance or data use.
For vessels not currently equipped with a KVH terminal and VSAT, KVH offers the compact linkHUB content server. KVH delivers linkHUB movie and TV programs monthly via secure, encrypted content drives, ensuring that ships receive entertaining content while maximizing onboard cybersecurity.
Nereus Shipping SA illustrates a common situation – a mixed fleet in which some vessels are equipped with KVH VSAT terminals and others are not. To ensure that all crews enjoy the benefits of content, Nereus subscribes to both KVH Link and linkHUB.
"Nereus Shipping SA is dedicated to constantly enhancing crews' wellbeing, that is why we have chosen to provide KVH Link and linkHUB service to our fleet's crew members to ensure that premium quality entertainment is delivered to them," says Ioannis Chryssoyiannis, IT Manager for Nereus Shipping SA.
Looking at the realities of the commercial maritime environment, KVH's Jamie Airs does not see the demand for crew content waning, explaining, "Commercial shipping faces a crewing crunch in the coming years, and access to crew connectivity and content is a must-have for the digital generation. Plus, it helps reduce crew turnover. Many customers prefer providing KVH Link content exclusively in communal areas to bring the crew out of their cabins and spend their downtime together. This shared entertainment experience promotes social cohesion, improved morale, and overall wellbeing onboard."
Note to Editors: For more information about KVH Link, please visit https://www.kvh.com/link. High-resolution images of KVH products are available at the KVH Press Room Image Library, https://www.kvh.com/imagelibrary.
About KVH Industries, Inc.
KVH Industries, Inc. is a global leader in mobile connectivity and maritime VSAT delivered via the KVH ONE network. The company, founded in 1982, is based in Middletown, RI, with research, development, and manufacturing operations in Middletown, RI, and more than a dozen offices around the globe. KVH provides connectivity solutions for commercial maritime, leisure marine, military/government, and land mobile applications on vessels and vehicles, including the TracNet, TracPhone, and TracVision® product lines, the KVH ONE OpenNet Program for non-KVH antennas, AgilePlans® Connectivity as a Service (CaaS), and the KVH Link crew wellbeing content service.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. For example, forward-looking statements include statements regarding the anticipated rollout of KVH products and services to customers and the availability of selected content. Our results could differ materially from the statements made in this press release. Factors that might cause these differences include, but are not limited to, the customer's ability to cancel content services at any time and potential unforeseen costs or expenses of providing the products and services included in KVH Link and other KVH services. Other factors are discussed in more detail in KVH's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 16, 2023, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 9, 2023. Copies are available through its Investor Relations department and website, investors.kvh.com. KVH does not assume any obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect new information and developments.
KVH Industries, Inc., has used, registered, or applied to register its trademarks in the USA and other countries around the world, including but not limited to the following marks: KVH, KVH ONE, TracVision, TracPhone, TracNet, and AgilePlans. Other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.
For further information, please contact:
Chris Watson
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
KVH Industries, Inc.
Tel: +1 401 845 2441
[email protected]
