Christmas greeting sent on board
Communication: From marine radio to cell phone

During this pre-Christmas season the mail on board the Hanseatic Lloyd vessels is awaited with special anticipation. Though not as much as a few decades ago since the means of communication with a seagoing vessel have changed substantially together with technology. For a long time ships maintained contact with the shipping company solely via marine radio and normal mail. Marine radio is wireless radio communication that takes place between ships and coastal radio stations on special short-wave frequency bands. This Morse Code was sent for the first time in 1897 and by 1900 marine radio had already established itself. General marine radio communication in Germany started with the coastal radio station”Norddeich Radio” in 1907. Generations of seamen stayed in contact with their families on shore and with the shipping companies through this coastal radio station. Extremely intensive use was made of this on holidays like Christmas. Greetings were sent to those at home via”Norddeich Radio” and their Christmas greetings were received by those on board via the coastal radio station.

Radio stations recorded and broadcast these greetings for decades. Programmes such as”Gruß an Board” (”Greetings on Board”) enjoyed great popularity, especially at Christmas – and they are still broadcast today. At the end of the 1930s radiotelephony gradually replaced wireless Morse Telegraphy. Radio messages could be transmitted from seagoing vessels to the public telephone network via the coastal radio stations. The introduction of the international system of satellites used for civilian purposes marked the gradual end of marine radio. Since then communication has been carried out via a large number of satellites situated above the West and East Atlantic, Pacific and the Indian Ocean.”Norddeich Radio” ceased operation in 1999, and the occupation of radio officer vanished along with it.

Floating office

Today the captain personally goes to the telephone. Ships are equipped with satellite telephones and are accessible not only by phone, but as a rule also by e-mail and fax. This means ship operation resembles a floating office in terms of communication. The vessels of the Hanseatic Lloyd fleet can be reached either via SAT-B or SAT-C systems. Hanseatic Lloyd carries out satellite communication (telephone, e-mail, fax) with France Telecom. E-mails are sent with a conventional PC as on shore, even attachments can be transmitted via the SAT-B system. The captain establishes a satellite connection by logging into the Skyfile system and can then receive or send e-mails.

E-mail transmission and reception via the SAT-C system, which only transfers text and is also provided on each ship, functions somewhat differently. The message is not sent to a mailbox via SAT-C, but directly to the respective ship, where the printer starts up at once and prints out the message. Direct communication between the shipping company and the vessel is usually carried out via e-mail but, nevertheless, one cannot do without normal mail.

Certificates, important documents that have to be on board, the regularly issued Notes to Mariners (NTM) and even small spare parts are still sent on board by normal post. At the shipping company everything is collected and then, every three to four weeks, sent to the next port of call, where everything is brought on board. Postal dispatch to container vessels is quite simple since the ships sail strictly according to schedule. The tankers of the fleet announce to the shipping company when they will arrive at which port a few days in advance. The mail goes via courier service or freight forwarder to the local agent who then brings it on board and in this way also forwards the mail from aboard to the shipping company.

When the cell phone rings

Of course, the crews can use all means of communication on board for a charge – they can telephone or be called there. Since we live in a modern communication society, nearly all seamen have their own cell phone on board, though like the company cell phones they only work near the coast. This means no one has to live without Christmas greetings from home any more.

In addition, seamen need not do without current news either. An electronic newspaper that reports briefly on the most important events in the world or at home is received on board Hanseatic Lloyd vessels once a day. This news service is printed out and put out for reading in the mess. It is, of course, available in Russian for the Russian-speaking crew members.

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