More Signal, More Strain? Rethinking Connectivity and Crew Welfare
4:00 – 4:40 PM GMT
Overview
Low-cost connectivity has transformed life on board. Crew can call home nightly instead of waiting weeks for a port call, pull real-time weather and routing data, and stay linked to shore-based support around the clock. For an industry that has spent decades treating isolation as one of its most stubborn welfare challenges, this looks like an unambiguous win.
The reality is more complicated. Constant access to home can sharpen homesickness rather than ease it, turning every missed call or muted family chat into a fresh reminder of distance. Crew now carry two worlds at once — present on board, yet mentally tethered to a life happening without them ashore. And the same connectivity that enables welfare support also opens the door to more monitoring, more reporting, and less of the downtime that once defined time at sea.
This panel brings together voices from crew welfare and maritime technology to confront that tension head-on. What does healthy connectivity actually look like on board? Who owns its downsides — the operator, the technology provider, or the seafarer? And as bandwidth keeps expanding, is the industry solving isolation, or simply giving it a new shape?
Speakers:
Maria Collie
Head of Sales, MarTrust
Maria is a seasoned maritime professional with extensive experience in crew payments and operational workflows. In her role at Marcura, she works closely with shipowners and managers to streamline crew payroll processes, improve payment reliability, and reduce administrative burden across fleets. Maria brings a practical, customer-focused perspective on how shipping companies can modernise crew payments while ensuring speed, security and consistency worldwide.
Simon Grainge
CEO, ISWAN
Simon Grainge is the Chief Executive of the International Seafarers Welfare & Assistance Network (ISWAN) – a not-for-profit seafarer welfare organisation based in the UK, India and the Philippines best known for its SeafarerHelp 24/7, multilingual helpline for seafarers and their families. Simon is responsible for the strategic direction and delivery of ISWAN’s services to seafarers. Simon’s career began in 1981 in the UK police service where he embarked on a 20 year career including operational policing, criminal investigation, firearms, training and secondments to the UK Home Office. Simon left the service in 2001 as a Sergeant to begin a subsequent career in the NGO sector. Working initially in the UK leading organisations delivering services to homeless people, he went on to work in international development in Nepal and Pakistan leading projects and services to improve the lives of people with disabilities. Returning to the UK in 2009, he managed a successful social enterprise before then heading up a national federation of homelessness NGOs. Simon joined ISWAN in 2021 and has been working to reinvigorate the organisation with a new strategy, improvements in service delivery and raising its profile with maritime stakeholders. Simon has held numerous board positions within national and international NGOs
