Feds to automate crew inspections for US-bound ships

After 10 years of testing an automated system for vetting crews arriving on commercial ships, the U.S. is finally ready to go fully paperless.

In an interim final rule to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is amending its regulations to require that vessel operators submit Form I-418, known as the passenger/crew list, in electronic form instead of the current paper requirement.

The new process is aimed at streamlining vessel arrivals and departures...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/feds-to-automate-crew-inspections-for-us-bound-ships

Crew crisis to trigger ship detentions and diversions

ship crew

Around 200,000 seafarers still can’t get home due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. Expired and extended crew contracts are piling up. Now, some port inspectors are beginning to balk and detain arriving vessels. 

“We are not just talking about a humanitarian crisis. This is turning into something that has a real impact on the global supply chain,” warned Belal Ahmed, chairman of the International Maritime Employers Council (IMEC), during a webinar presented by Capital Link on Wednesday.

More port...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/crew-crisis-to-trigger-ship-detentions-and-diversions

Getting crews on and off ships and airplanes

The three largest global organizations representing the workforces of the maritime and air transport industries have asked their government members to ensure the continued cross-border movement of these “key workers” to and from their jobs.

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a flurry of government bans on international travel, which has obstructed necessary crew changes to keep the world’s maritime and aircraft fleet, as well as at ports and logistics hubs, in operation and goods flowing.

Th...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/getting-crews-on-and-off-ships-and-airplanes

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