LIVERPOOL, U.K., Nov. 20, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI ), a leading provider of maritime satellite television and communications systems, is delighted to support the International Seafarers' Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) as sponsor of a London event this Thursday evening: "Michael Grey, MBE, in Conversation with Rose George". George is 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. Grey is a lecturer and former ship master who received the MBE in 2000 for services to maritime safety.
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.
Book author Rose 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 leading 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 organisation dedicated to promoting the welfare of mariners and the implementation of the Maritime Labour 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 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", said Mr. Woodhead.
Additional information about KVH's news, sports, and movie content is available on the company's website www.kvhmediagroup.com .
About KVH Industries, Inc.
KVH Industries is a leading provider of in-motion satellite TV and communications systems, having designed, manufactured, and sold more than 175,000 mobile satellite antennas for applications on vessels, vehicles, and aircraft. KVH is also a leading news, music, and entertainment content provider to many industries including maritime, retail, and leisure. In addition to NewsLink and Crewtoo, KVH's maritime-industry brands include Walport ® Maritime Training Films and Walport Entertainment On-Board. KVH's mission is to connect mobile customers around the globe with the same digital television entertainment, communications, and Internet services that they enjoy in their homes and offices. KVH is based in Middletown, RI, U.S.A., with facilities in Illinois, Denmark, Norway, the U.K., Singapore, the Philippines, Belgium, Holland, Cyprus, and Japan.
This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include, for example, statements regarding the functionality, characteristics, quality, cost, and performance of KVH services and technology. The actual results could differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such differences include, among others, access to sufficient and uninterrupted satellite capacity to provide the service; uncertainty about the scope of customer demand; and KVH's dependence on the availability of third-party satellites and services to support broadcasts to mobile antennas. These and other risk factors are discussed in more detail in KVH's most recent Form 10-Q filed with the SEC. KVH does not assume any obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect new information or developments.
KVH, NewsLink, Crewtoo, and Walport are trademarks of KVH Industries, Inc.
Sue Henney Marketing Manager KVH Media Group +44 151 236 4124 Jill Connors Media & Communications Manager KVH Industries, Inc. +1 401-851-3824
