COVID-19 crew change crisis: Have mental health interventions made a difference?Olivia Swift, Senior Programme Manager at Lloyds Register Foundation.Which interventions have seafarers experienced – and have they been valuable?
A new report from an international research team led by the University of the Philippines Visayas funded by Lloyd’s Register Foundation’s small grants programme reveals which interventions were offered to seafarers during the pandemic – and which they believed were most...
IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim highlights rights of seafarers in speech to La Rochelle Maritime Symposium
Annick Girardin, Minister of the Sea, Franceand IMO’s Secretary-General Kitack Lim
IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim shone a spotlight on the rights of seafarers and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on recruitment and retention when speaking at the La Rochelle Maritime Symposium on ‘Employment and skills challenges in the European maritime transport and services sector’, held on 09...
The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), 104th session, 4-8 October 202, approved a draft IMO Assembly resolution consolidating issues related to crew change, access to medical care, ʺkey workerʺ designation and seafarers’ prioritization for COVID-19 vaccination, with a view to adoption at the 32nd session of the IMO Assembly (6-15 December 2021).
Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), 104th session, met remotely 4-8 October 2021 – full...
Covid drives big demand for crew-change specialists
Peter Smit, Co-CEO, Boers Crew Services
Crew change specialists are in big demand from shipping companies struggling to get seafarers on or off vessels because of Covid-19 travel restrictions, an industry figure has revealed.
Authorities around the world have either closed ports or introduced entry measures to prevent potential coronavirus carriers from entering their country – making it difficult for ship owners to get crew in or out, according...
Pictured: a conceptual montage representing Indian seafarers. There is an increasing shortage of Indian seafarers, ship managers report. Photo credits: Indian male by Surinder Pal Singh via Unsplash; boxes by Andi Graf via Pixabay. Montage: Shipping Australia.
The percentage of seafarers who have to stay onboard ship beyond their contract has decreased slightly and the percentage of seafarers who have been vaccinated has risen slightly. However, for the first time, ship managers are reporting a...
16 Aug 2021, Es Sider Terminal, Libya Maintenance work underway in the area of a leak in the Es Sider pipeline is expected to be completed tomorrow (17 August). Read more »
Restrictions extended to 23 August
16 Aug 2021, Indonesia The closure of Indonesia’s borders to foreigners arriving by air and other emergency restrictions are due to end on 23 August. Disembarkation of foreign crew can still...
29 Jul 2021, Haldia, India The shutdown of lock gate operations at Haldia previously planned for 31 July has been rescheduled in view of inclement weather. Read more »
Vessel movements suspended due to rough weather
29 Jul 2021, Haldia, India Inward and outward vessel movements at Haldia have been cancelled, due to rough weather. Read more »
DNV backs crew change programme in South East Asia
Seafarer gazing out to sea (copyright: DNV)
Singapore, 28 July 2021 – DNV, the world’s leading classification society and risk management expert, is embarking on an instrumental role in helping to facilitate safe crew changes amid South East Asia’s COVID crisis as an auditor in the multi-party backed CrewSafe programme.
CrewSafe is the creation of the Singapore Shipping Tripartite Alliance Resilience (SG-STAR) Fund Task Force (SFTF), which...
Government actions to combat COVID are continuing to make life unreasonably difficult for seafarers. The crew change crisis has been going on for more than 15 months and is getting worse, not better, says the Global Maritime Forum, an international not-for-profit organisation.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented crew change crisis which has led to hundreds of thousands of seafarers being impacted and, in many instances, left stranded on...
The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has backed the calls for a crew change […] The post ITF calls for suspension of crew changes in northern Mozambique over terror threat…