Concerns for the future of Kiribati’s maritime workforce have escalated across the small Pacific Island nation, as the community appeals to their government to bring home more than 250 I-Kiribati seafarers stranded overseas.
The I-Kiribati seafarers are among thousands of maritime workers globally displaced during the COVID-19 pandemic, as widespread travel restrictions disrupted the ‘crew change’ system, which enables crewmembers travel to and from their ships at either end of their contractual...