KVH Industries, Inc., a provider of maritime satellite television and communications systems, will support the International Seafarers' Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) as sponsor of a London event: "Michael Grey, MBE, in Conversation with Rose George."
The private ISWAN event on 21 November will take place in an appropriately maritime venue: The Ward Room of the HMS "President", a former Royal Navy warship docked in London and converted to a club and event space.
George, the author of the acclaimed book, "Deep Sea and Foreign Going: Inside Shipping, the Invisible Industry that Brings You 90% of Everything," published in September 2013, is a lecturer and former ship master who received the MBE in 2000 for services to maritime safety. George spent five weeks on a containership while researching "Deep Sea and Foreign Going," which describes the challenging working conditions onboard commercial ships. Her book has received attention both inside and outside the shipping industry for raising awareness of seafarers' welfare.
"Seafarers are clearly essential to the shipping enterprise, but they remain the buried secret in an already- hidden industry. In our view, anything that highlights shipping, and especially the working and living conditions onboard, to the wider community, is worth its weight in gold," said Mark Woodhead, managing director of KVH Media Group. "Rose George's book has created a real buzz in the industry and we are immensely proud to sponsor this event, which ties into our own business objectives to provide seafarers with basic services that will assist them in the following areas: communications with home, contact with each other, news, training, personal development, and entertainment."
KVH's NewsLink digital newspapers and Crewtoo social media network, which are based in Liverpool, are providers of maritime crew welfare services. NewsLink and Crewtoo were formerly part of Headland Media, which was acquired by KVH Industries earlier this year. Headland Media is now called KVH Media Group. KVH Industries, Inc., has global headquarters in the United States.
ISWAN, a U.K.-based organization dedicated to promoting the welfare of mariners and the implementation of the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC) 2006 mandating crew welfare benefits, aims to use the event to highlight its objectives and examine the welfare issues facing crew.
KVH's content services provide key aspects of crew welfare that meet MLC-2006 regulations. The NewsLink daily international newspaper service delivers publications in 17 different languages onboard 9,000 ships across the globe. In addition, Crewtoo is reportedly the world's largest and most popular social media site dedicated to seafarers, with 95,000 members worldwide.
"All of our maritime services, which additionally include sports, movies, music, and training videos, provide a comprehensive solution for commercial maritime companies striving to meet the new requirements of MLC-2006," Mr. Woodhead said.
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