Shipmate / How it works
One app for the crew, bird's-eye view for officers.
Shipmate is the crew’s internal communication: messages, news, the handbook and the ship’s shop, in one app on their phones. The office sees every vessel and who has read what, and keeps the crew list, the handbook and the orders in one place. Access follows the crew plan, so everyone gets what concerns them and nothing else.
1
Always know who is on shift
The crew list holds who is on board, in which role and on which rotation. Groups and access follow it: whoever signs on is in, whoever signs off is out. Nobody maintains a list by hand.
2
Every message has a receipt
A post shows who has read it and who has not. One tap reminds only those who have not. And the post keeps its history: who wrote it, when it went out, who read it and when. Nothing is lost in a chat that scrolls away.
3
Speak up where you are
A deckhand notices a leaking hose and writes it in the chat, in plain words. The officer escalates it as a deviation with one tap, and it lands in the safety management system as a non-conformity, with the name, the time and the words as written. The person who reported it sees that it moved on.
4
The slop chest, before departure and at sea
Before departure, the bonded stores order: everyone picks from a list with prices and limits, and the office gets one order per vessel, ready for the supplier and for payroll. At sea, the slop chest: the crew buy from the steward, and every purchase lands on the right person.
5
The handbook, where the crew already are
Procedures, plans and policies by vessel and role, kept in sync with the system you already have. Each crew member sees what applies to them. The office adds shortcuts to the documents and systems the crew need most, so they are one tap away in the app they already use.
6
News for the whole company, or for those it concerns
Company news goes out with a picture and an author, to the whole organisation or to selected vessels, roles or people. Each item shows how many have read it.
Set up in an afternoon.
The crew list comes from the HR or crewing system you already use, or from a Excel file. Groups, access and the handbook follow it. The office does the setup. The crew open the app and see their vessel.
See it on your own vessel
An hour is enough to show the crew’s side and the office’s.