Nr. 1 2010 - Handelsflådens Velfærdsråd

Hello ! Speech is silver –
silence is golden they
say. Everyone that has
been a long time away from
family and friends knows that
the reverse applies. There is
nothing like the voice of someone
you love very much when
you are on the other side of the
world and possibly homesick.
Previously, you could
express this longing in long
letters which might take
months to arrive. Since then,
different forms of radio,
telephony, telex and lastly
email have arrived. The
latter makes it especially
easy to keep in touch when
the physical distance is
great but in comparison to
conversation, it is still a slow
means of communicating.
Satellite phones have
made it possible, but
somewhat expensive to call
home when you need to,
but this is rarely private and
therefore many choose to buy
telephone cards or use their
mobile phones as soon as
SeaRoam
– the global SIM card
over the past six months the danish government’s seamen’s service (hfv) has propagated the global siM card searoam.
the card has been developed by the british firm Millennium, and is primarily targeted at the maritime sector. it was our
desire to offer a siM card which can be used in as many locations as possible, thus providing a high degree of flexibility.
unfortunately, the initial prices have not remained stable. for this reason we wish to take this opportunity to orientate our
customers on the prices. it is our clear impression that the siM card is, in general, very popular even though there may
be instances of problems in its use. Earlier this year we received a number of inquiries about the prices as they were not
entirely transparent, as mentioned above. We also received many positive messages, including the attached message we
received from Chief Mate Jess Martin holsting of the Edith Maersk. We are currently testing Millennium’s latest product,
a dongle, and expect to be able to offer this during the summer.
the weakest signal is
available. The last option is
the easiest but certainly not
the cheapest.
But then along came
SeaRoam, who initially
advertised very cheap calls
and SMS. Eventually however,
it turned out that calls from
some countries were more
expensive than the adver-
tising had promised. But if
we compare prices solely
within Europe, such as
Tele-Denmark Communications
(TDC), we see that SeaRoam
is cheapest.
SeaRoam works a little
differently than a normal SIM
card and may be confusing
at first. You must key in the
telephone number and select
call, the phone dials as usual
but suddenly the phone rings
as if you are receiving a
call while you are making a
call. But that is how it works
and when you get through,
SeaRoam is just as clear as if
you had made the call with a
TDC SIM card.
by chief officer Jess Martin Holsting, Edith Maersk
New global sim card!
From 41 US cents a minute
to almost anywhere in the world!
Call anywhere from almost anywhere!
Receive calls from as little as 8 US cents per minute
No roaming charges
Your own number worldwide
Works on any unlocked phone
Send SMS from 22 US cents
Receive SMS FREE
NO EXPIRY DATE on sims or top-ups
You can purchase our global sim card at your seafarers’
centre or from our web site.
For full details of rates & other advantages please visit:
www.searoam.com
HOriSOnt 035°