History
Before the introduction of satellite communications enabled by the Inmarsat A terminal in the early 1980s, crew members relied on their ship's radio personnel to send either a telex or patch-through a radio-to-telephone message once their ship was at sea. When time in port between voyages could extend to several weeks this social isolation was usually manageable, but by 2001 average vessel turnaround times in port had declined to an overall mean of less than a day, while voyages could last several weeks. At a time when many shipowners complained that they could not find competent personnel, the lack of normal communications avenues such as SMS and mobile voice services was thought to be a possible contributory factor.
Read more about this topic: Crew Calling
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“All history is a record of the power of minorities, and of minorities of one.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The view of Jerusalem is the history of the world; it is more, it is the history of earth and of heaven.”
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881)
“No one can understand Paris and its history who does not understand that its fierceness is the balance and justification of its frivolity. It is called a city of pleasure; but it may also very specially be called a city of pain. The crown of roses is also a crown of thorns. Its people are too prone to hurt others, but quite ready also to hurt themselves. They are martyrs for religion, they are martyrs for irreligion; they are even martyrs for immorality.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)