Could you please introduce yourself and provide a brief overview of your role at KVH Industries?  What inspired you to pursue a career in the maritime industry, and how has your journey led you to KVH Industries?

My name is Chris Watson, and I’m the vice president of marketing and communications for KVH Industries. I’ve been with KVH for more than twenty years and as a lifelong sailor and a lover of innovative technology, it was a perfect fit for me. I now have the pleasure of leading a talented team of designers and communicators who help tell stories about KVH’s maritime technology and services and, more importantly, how commercial seafarers and leisure boaters benefit from those services. I think everyone wants to feel like they are making a difference in the lives of others. In my role, I observe daily how KVH’s innovative, customer-focused employees do exactly that through connectivity, live support, and more. It’s an honor to be a part of this company and to tell those stories through our website, our events, our advertising, our partners, and speaking with publications like Cyprus Shipping News.

 

Can you describe KVH Industries and its core focus within the maritime industry? What sets KVH Industries apart from other companies in the maritime sector?

At KVH, our mission is to ensure our customers are always connected. While that may sound simple, it encompasses a great deal. Our connectivity solutions ensure that commercial crews can be connected to home and family, whether through social media, video chats, voice calls, daily news from home, sporting events and updates, or just engaged with their crewmates through social interactions like karaoke or watching a blockbuster movie together. At the same time, we’re keeping ships’ masters and crews connected with the home office, port authorities, and others to ensure efficient, safe operations. The increasing digitalization of vessels generates a tremendous amount of data, but if the data can’t get off the ship, it doesn’t provide any benefit, so we keep those vessels and systems connected to the cloud and the analytic systems that help boost efficiency and speed maintenance.

Just as critically, we ensure that our customers remain connected to us and that our service and support teams are connected to them. Anyone who has a technical problem while at sea can’t afford to wait a day or two for a response to an email. That’s why we provide 24/7/365 live airtime and technical support. Plus, our SATCOM solutions automatically send more than 150 health and performance parameters to our engineers and tech support teams daily, enabling us to be connected to those systems and then identify and solve those issues before the crew or the fleet operator even knows there might be a problem. We do all this with an innovative approach to integrated solutions that draw on legacy and emerging communication networks with advanced network and bandwidth management.

 

How does KVH Industries contribute to maritime technology and innovation? Can you discuss any recent advancements or innovations that KVH Industries has implemented to enhance safety and efficiency in the maritime industry?

We’re proud of our track record of innovation, ranging back to our invention of the digital marine compass in the early 1980s, the creation of our maritime stabilized tracking antennas for satellite TV and communications, and our launch of the first 60 cm VSAT maritime terminal, which upended the maritime marketplace and rapidly set the standard for antenna design and network service in the GEO-based VSAT market.

Since then, we’ve expanded our approach to maritime connectivity via our KVH ONE network, which we launched more than two years ago. It is a multi-orbit, multi-channel solution that brings together GEO-based VSAT, LEO services like Starlink and OneWeb, 5G/LTE cellular, and shore-based Wi-Fi with seamless management and integration now using our CommBox Edge Communications Gateway with SD-WAN, channel balancing and bonding, secure remote service access to networked devices, and more. KVH ONE helps enhance safety and efficiency through high reliability via multiple channels, data and usage management, support for crew morale and wellness, and much more. KVH ONE set a new standard for maritime connectivity, flexibility, and reliability. We’re now seeing other companies mimic our approach, so I guess we can take that as imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

 

What are the main challenges facing the maritime industry today, and how is KVH Industries addressing these issues?

Wow, that’s a pretty broad question! Clearly, decarbonization is a significant initiative on the part of the industry. The expansion of digitalization and the Internet of Things, which employs onboard sensors and data capture for analytics and performance enhancement, are game changes delivering an increasing array of benefits. We address the necessity for real-time or near-real-time data sharing between ship and shore to help make these initiatives practical.

I think the industry is also recognizing and confronting the issues of cybersecurity threats as well as the vital need to focus on seafarers’ mental health and well-being as a means of recruiting and retaining crew. First, our solutions are built with a security-by-design mindset to incorporate multiple layers of protection to minimize cyber risks while offering enterprise-grade managed enhancements for fleets needing additional support. From the crew’s perspective, our award-winning KVH Link service affordably delivers daily news, sports, music, movies, TV, and other entertainment to benefit crew well-being. At the same time, we can help fleets offer a crew portal for safe and secure voice calls, Internet access, and other services. The new crews joining ships are digital natives who have never NOT had a smartphone in their hands and connectivity at their fingertips.

 

How is KVH Industries committed to sustainability and reducing the environmental impact of maritime operations? Can you provide examples of any green initiatives or technologies that KVH Industries is implementing?

We are committed to offering environmentally conscious products built to minimize power consumption, waste, and carbon production in our manufacturing. At the same time, by making managed solutions for connectivity and IT services available to our customers, we’re helping to eliminate at least some of the roadblocks that might be slowing the deployment of these initiatives. For example, the increasing sophistication of voyage optimization systems offers tremendous benefits with regard to fuel use and overall efficiency. Real-time, reliable communication is critical in that situation.

 

How does KVH Industries manage its global operations, and what are some of the key markets you operate in? What are the challenges of operating in different regions, and how do you ensure compliance with international maritime regulations?

We’ve established our technical and customer support programs based on more than forty years of global sales and service experience and a worldwide network of factory-trained technical partners. With 24/7/365 live coordination and management by our technical and field service teams, we can have a technician on hand in every major port in a matter of hours at most. We’ve deployed technicians to remote locations around the globe to provide the onboard field service needed to ensure a rapid recovery from any outage. To speed that service and support as well as new deployments, we maintain a global network of consignment locations to ensure that individual parts and complete product kits are available for easy access and installation on vessels wherever they operate.

We are also committed to compliance with all necessary regulations, whether it be IMO regs pertaining to fire-retardant cables or the separation of operations and crew networks to U.S. State Department restrictions on sales to prohibited countries. In addition, we cooperatewith our satellite partners, such as Starlink, which uses geo-fencing to prevent service use in countries or jurisdictions where its service is not yet licensed.

 

What are KVH Industries’ long-term goals for the maritime industry? How do you envision the role of technology shaping the future of maritime operations?

Maritime connectivity is in a transition period marked by exciting changes, substantial disruptions, and a growing range of new LEO and 5G services providing high-speed, low-cost data streams. However, this shift often lacks the controls and comprehensive services that mariners and fleet operators have come to rely on with traditional options like VSAT.

Our approach to delivering connectivity is rooted in our dedication to understanding each customer’s unique needs and goals. We work closely with our clients to create tailored solutions that meet their requirements and drive their success. Central to our strategy is offering managed services, which help alleviate our customers’ workload, minimize risk, and enhance efficiency. Currently, we provide a range of managed services, including firewall technology and configuration, cloud email, content delivery, and advanced network and bandwidth management. We anticipate a continuing expansion of our suite of managed solutions and are committed to delivering world-class, evolving solutions in the future.

 

How important are collaborations and partnerships in the maritime industry, and what kind of partnerships has KVH Industries formed? Can you share any success stories or significant projects where these partnerships have made a notable impact?

We have a strong partnership with Intelsat extending back to 2016, enabling us to deliver Ku-band VSAT service via an outstanding and rock-solid GEO network. We also have partnerships with Starlink and Eutelsat OneWeb, two companies driving exciting changes in maritime connectivity.

While we are proud of KVH’s legacy of internal product and service development, we also recognize that we can offer our customers an even more robust, versatile, and valuable solution by integrating outstanding options and additions through partnerships. One of those partnerships is with Kognitive Networks, which resulted in the launch of our exciting CommBox Edge Communications Gateway. This solution enables us to integrate the communication channels aboard commercial and leisure vessels seamlessly, including 5G/LTE, VSAT, Starlink, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet using advanced SD-WAN and other network management tools.

This solution enables us to integrate the communication channels aboard commercial and leisure vessels seamlessly, including 5G/LTE, VSAT, Starlink, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet using advanced network management tools. It offers a huge array of capabilities, including support for as many as 12 WAN connections and create and manage up to 30 LANs aboard ship, unlimited PEP WAN optimization to boost speeds and efficiencies, secure remote access via URL to provide remote support for any networked device onboard, dynamic data and usage rules that automatically change behavior based on changing situations, and real-time reporting.

 

What advice would you give to young professionals looking to enter the maritime industry? How can industry professionals stay updated with the latest trends and technologies in the maritime sector?

My first advice would be to understand what you want to achieve and speak with professionals in the industry. There are a lot of great books out there, but nothing can replace the first-hand perspectives of someone with real-life experience. Second, read the industry publications. They offer insights into the new regulations, the new technical advances, and the vision of industry leaders from the perspectives of maritime operations and maritime service providers. And finally, get to the trade shows when you can. It’s impossible to see and speak with everyone here at SMM this week as it’s just so big, but I can guarantee that you will find something new around every corner and down every aisle that will surprise, fascinate, or educate you.

 

Is there anything else you would like to add about KVH Industries or the maritime industry in general? What are you most excited about regarding the future of KVH Industries and the maritime industry?

Our industry is undergoing significant and exciting changes. New players like Starlink, OneWeb, and, further down the road, Amazon Kuiper are disrupting the expectations for and access to satellite connectivity. At KVH, we’re thrilled to be working with and offering these new services as part of our KVH ONE network.

Our mission, as I mentioned earlier, is to help our customers worldwide stay always connected to whomever they wish, whenever they wish, wherever they wish, and however they wish. As an integrated solutions provider, we aim to be a collaborative partner for our customers to develop customized, integrated solutions that blend the benefits of new and existing connectivity options and advanced managed services. We are very excited by the opportunities now and in the future to ensure that every vessel in a fleet, along with its officers and crew, enjoys the stable and dependable connectivity essential for safe and efficient operations and overall crew well-being.