Nostalgia In recent years technology has made huge steps in all sectors, including the maritime industry. In this Nostalgia edition we will see the progress made in means of communication and on other operational equipment on board vessels as well as the risks involved. Technology has made our lives easier, taking us from the days of Morse code, telex machines, telegraphs, typewriters, carbon papers and airmail to modern day computers, printers, scanners, emails and other online real time applications/ programs. I am sure the more experienced remember the time consuming and tiring procedure of sending/receiving messages on the telex and those long sheets of printed voyage orders! Everything is easier and simpler now, sitting comfortably at your desk, typing on your keyboard and sending messages with a click of the mouse.
technology (OT), meaning the technology of machines, equipment and software on board ships, with the invention of ECDIS, GPS, CCTV, Remote support for engines, Engine control and Dynamic positioning. My first visit aboard a Marine Trust vessel, the Captain A. Stellatos in 2018, certified the progress made in IT and OT systems on board vessels. M/T Captain Stellatos, aframax 105,484 mt deadweight, built in 2010 was acquired from the historic company, India Steamship, in 2017 together with her sister vessels Merbabu, Semeru and Namrata. Constructed in Hyundai Heavy Industries and fully coated, she was named after, and in memory of, our former Marine Operations Manager, who passed away in 2015.
The M/T CE Wave’s (Aframax tanker built in 1992) radio room with telex There are three main reasons why vessels require communication: for navigation purposes, communication between ships or helping ships in need/saving lives at sea, and for obtaining information. You can understand how much technology has helped in all the above, with telephone communication, computers and the Internet setting milestones in communication. Until the discovery of radio waves, navigation was limited to what a seafarer could see or hear. During the age of sailing with the power of the wind, trumpets, flag signals and flares were the means of communication. And flying the national flag upside down is still an internationally recognized distress signal. I am sure the more senior crew on board all remember the difficulties of communicating with their loved ones. The only means of communication was letters, which could only be sent when the vessel called at a port. Having to wait for weeks, or even months, to hear news from family and friends and sometimes only finding out important news well after it at had actually occurred must have been nerve racking. I am sure you can almost still feel the anxiety of not hearing from your family and the joy and strength that receiving a letter via airmail gave you. Luckily, technology now gives the crew on board vessels the opportunity for direct, efficient and regular communication with their families and loved ones. Technology has improved and simplified things not only as far as communication is concerned (IT) but also in operation
Just one view of a modern vessel’s bridge: marine radars, antennas Left: Mr Fivos Christopoulos (Operations Manager) and right: Ms Eleftheria Lemontzoglou (Operator)
The Bridge seems quite complicated, but actually makes the seafarers life easier, as at the touch of a button, major operations such as steering/maneuvering the vessel can be carried out. Issue 77-September 2021
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