5 June 2024 (Lloyd's List) - SEAFARERS have embraced Starlink internet on ships, but employers are worried about the side effects.

Crew have gone from barely any mobile phone connectivity to speeds that, in some cases, are fast as those on land, and there are signs it is changing the basic isolation of life at sea.

Employers told a Posidonia crewing panel that seafarers had gone from socialising together after hours to staying in their cabins on their phones.

There are worries about crew not getting enough rest, and being distracted from jobs during the day.

International Maritime Employers’ Council chief executive Francesco Gargiulo said the new generation of seafarers were used to unlimited internet access.

“That brings about a lot of other consequences, and some of them are fairly negative,” he told the event.

“You provide them with Starlink and all they want to do is be on the internet.”

Seafarers now had daily access to their families by video call, providing much-needed connection on long stretches away.

But that access meant crew were also aware of their families’ daily challenges — “challenges you cannot address, because you are not there”.

Gargiulo said this led to some to decide they did not want the job.

His comments came as part of a wider discussion about how shipping can find and keep talent amid worries of a looming shortage of good officers, a challenge that “is becoming bigger by the day”.

Optimum Ship Services head of crew Panagiotis Bitsakis complained of a shortage of seafarers across all ranks.

The forum was told crewing companies were having to change their practices to meet the different expectations of younger seafarers.