Martek Marine has launched iVital, a telemedicine service that could lead to annual industry-wide savings of up to $168 million.

At any given time, 1.5 million seafarers are operating around 55,000 merchant vessels across the globe. Of these seafarers, about 7 percent each year will be evacuated from the vessel on which they are working due to ill health. The annual cost to the industry of diversions and helicopter evacuations is $760 million, almost a quarter of which is ultimately unnecessary.

iVital could save shipowners hundreds of thousands of dollars each by avoiding costly, unnecessary course diversions and helicopter evacuations through the misdiagnosis of ill or injured crew members.

Image Credit: Martek Marine