One of the many purposes of the Auckland International Seafarers Centre, like most similar organisations around the world, is to connect seafarers with their families. As times have changed, the Centre has adapted.
For many years the centre provided seafarers with a quiet place to write, and the facilities to then post, letters home. Those needing to speak to their loved ones – an expensive undertaking at the time – had to go to the Post Office to place toll-calls through the operator until international direct dialling became readily available in the late 1970s. The Seafarers’ Centre began to provide telephone calling services to seafarers, and in the 1990s, for example, often had 8 telephone lines running in the evening and had to limit call times so that all those wishing to call home could do so.
The advent of the internet saw telephone usage slowly diminishing as seafarers communicated with their families through on-line services such as Skype using PCs provided at the Centre. Around 2014, the centre installed a WiFi service so that those with laptops and smartphones could connect. Initially, charges were levied for wifi access but they are now provided free of charge. Most seafarers now have laptops or smartphones and the Centre’s PCs became rarely used. They and the landline telephone service were discontinued in 2023, while the WiFi system is now heavily utilised.
The 2018 Crew Connectivity Survey Report indicates that over half of the 6,000 serving mariners (of more than 30 nationalities) polled in the survey feel that the internet has damaged the social aspects of life at sea, 53% believing that improved communications systems had seen a decline in social interaction onboard ship. The report noted “a more nuanced approach” developing, with “at least one operator who is reviving the idea of the ‘Internet Cafe’ — an initiative which is designed to address the very real issues around camaraderie, interaction and teamwork on board.” Although the report is some 8 years old, the conclusions appear to the current.
Around three-quarters of the survey participants had access to the internet at sea – albeit that whilst costs are falling, connection can still be expensive. The report, however, also pointed out that the increasing isolation of seafarers due to reducing interaction with their fellow crew-members was also observed on ships without internet access.
The report also states “What has been clear for several years now is the demand amongst seafarers for a global roaming SIM card (* see note), a cheap satellite phone and free in-port WiFi*. It remains a source of frustration for seafarers that these requests—which they’ve been making repeatedly since the survey began—appear still to be falling on deaf ears.”
As charities, largely funded by donations and grants, not every seafarers’ centre can afford to provide free access to the internet unless the port company or another authority provides it. In the case of the Auckland Seafarers’ Centre, WiFi access is provided free thanks to an operating grant from Maritime New Zealand which covers around 75% of operating costs and the generous support of the port company which provides the centre facility at a peppercorn rental. In addition, the port company provides a number of portable Wifi units which are placed on ships berthed in the port.
The report notes that the internet also allows seafarers to contact home without having to wait to get to port to visit seafarers’ welfare centres, although another aspect of our service is that we provide a safe place for seafarers to get away from their ships! It is clearly a subject with many angles!
The ISWAN report on the Crew Connectivity Report can be read here, and the Crew Connectivity Report 2018 can be downloaded free of charge here. Later Seafarers Happiness Index (Q1 2025 and Q4 2023) reports include substantial sections on internet access and its impact on welfare, but they are framed as broader happiness surveys rather than dedicated connectivity reports. Comment on seafarers’ welfare facilities are also included.
* NOTES:
As well as offering free NZ Sim Cards and top-ups, the Centre now offers access to an eSim Card at discounted rates for seafarers.
Contact the chaplains.
Free Wifi is provided to ships in port by Ports of Auckland Ltd