A lifeline for seafarers waiting for crew changes has indeed being thrown by Sri Lanka, which straddles a major shipping lane. It has approved crew changes through a passenger ship positioned off the Port of Galle to function as an Offshore Crew Transit Hub (OCTH) with the expectation that OCTH would minimize seafarer interaction with local society.
Arriving seafarers are directly transferred to the OCTH where they remain until connectivity is established with the joining ship for an on-signer...