In the aftermath of the pandemic, more than 200,000 seafarers worldwide remain trapped on ships or waiting for work, reports the Epoch Times.
Many have been banned from entering ports due to the virus restrictions, causing major disruption to international shipping lanes and the well-being of seafarers.
Crew conversion becomes challenging
A conversion or conversion of the crew takes place in a port of call where a new group of crew members arrives to replace the outgoing crew approaching the end of their contracts.
Outgoing crew members will usually return to their country and wait to board a new vessel. Vessels also prefer crew members from their country because of communication and legal requirements.
COVID-19 and subsequent restrictions on international borders made the process of converting crew members challenging. For example, authorities in Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai have placed heavier restrictions on ships entering their ports, following the COVID-19 increases in countries such as India.
Virus restrictions disrupting crew change protocols
Stranded seafarers were forced to renew their contracts and continue to operate vessels. Some have worked on board for more than 17 months, exceeding the 11-month limit set by international treaties.
The slow implementation of safe crew change protocols by port authorities has hampered the disembarkation and repatriation of the crew.
The International Maritime Organization, the United Nations labor market, has raised red flags over the prolonged stress and fatigue of seafarers, which also hampers their ability to work optimally and increases the risks of maritime accidents.
This has contributed to the existing dangers at sea, including severe weather, piracy and non-standard vessels.
“Seafarers cannot stay at sea indefinitely,” Kitack Lim, secretary-general of the IMO, called on countries to act swiftly. “The whole government” approach.
Key worker status
Lim urged governments to recognize seafarers as key workers and resolve the crew’s difficulty level, which includes travel and visa restrictions, availability of flights to the port of calls and vaccination priority.
“Crew change is no longer as simple and easy as it used to be,” said Ramos, a Filipino seafaring chef who did not want to use his real name for fear of retaliation. “Half the day is over when you complete your travel documents, transport the port and accommodation back and forth and change crew procedures,” he told The Epoch Times.
“Sometimes the seafarers also have to travel over a series of connecting flights that travel halfway around the world to get somewhere near their port of call,” Kochhar of AP Moller, a container logistics company, said. “Even if the crew member, after reaching the port, has to follow varied COVID-19 protocols before entering some countries.”
Virus outbreak wreaking havoc on Indian seafarers
Although the number of crew members awaiting repatriation has halved from 400,000 last year, the increasing travel ban on the Indian crew and the rising COVID cases in the Indian subcontinent could exacerbate the crisis and bring it back to its peak in 2020.
India, one of the world’s largest sources of maritime workers, produces 15 percent or about 240,000 of the world’s 1.6 million seafarers.
“About 14 per cent of Indian seafarers have been vaccinated with at least a first dose. About one percent have been completely vaccinated,” the South China Morning Post reported
Meanwhile, industry experts have insisted on the priority of vaccinating Indian sailors, as shipping employers prefer to hire Filipino and Indonesian crews over Indians.
On 31 May, the Indian Maritime Association of Shipowners and Agents (MASSA) issued a nationwide announcement vaccination drive for Indian seafarers.
“We are launching our COVID vaccination initiative from 10 June and aim to vaccinate at least 10,000 Indian seafarers with doses of Covishield in Mumbai within two weeks,” said Mivsa CEO Shiv Halbe.
Despite the 84-day wait between the first and second stitches, industry experts said the move was timely for an industry that soon needs proof of vaccination for the crew.
‘No crew change’ that violates human rights
Since last year, the International Maritime Organization has been hiring tenants who claim no crew changed in their contracts. The provisions will enable ships to avoid visiting ports where the crew usually changes, and to avoid possible delays if a new member later tests the virus positively.
In a statement denouncing the act, Lim Secretary-General asked commanders to refrain from including such clauses in their trade contracts and called on ship operators to reject them.
Lim said the clauses would exacerbate the mental and physical fatigue of already exhausted seafarers. This could further undermine compliance with maritime labor laws and jeopardize safe navigation.
“It is particularly disappointing to see cases of prominent charterers, including some who have publicly voiced support for seafarers, demanding that the provisions of ‘no change to crew’ be included in their charter parties or travel instructions,” says Richard Hext, Chairman of the ASA Committee on Ship Insurance and Liability.
“Such clauses are contrary to the human rights of seafarers and are contrary to the responsibilities of owners in terms of MLC 2006. [Maritime Labour Convention 2006]. ”
On May 6, United Nations bodies published a checklist to help companies uphold their responsibilities to protect the rights of seafarers when serving ship services. The Human rights tool also corrects the necessary caution in complying with human rights obligations.
“For far too long, shipping has been a blind spot for human rights for global brands,” Stephen Cotton, general secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation, said in a statement. “Responsible businesses in today’s world want to understand how they, or partners in their supply chains, can violate human rights, even by accident.”
Sailors still trapped in Limbo
The 2021 Day of the Seafarer campaign calls on governments to recognize seafarers as key workers and facilitate travel restrictions for them to facilitate crew change amid the pandemic.
While seafarers form the backbone of the supply chains and supply 80% of the world’s supplies, few people are aware of it – with some turning heads. After repatriation, many sailors remain grounded and cannot return to work.
“I want to keep working for as long as possible. I need the work to put food on the table, to feed my children and family. The situation is bad now, but I am prepared to sign up again; I hope I get a call soon,” Ramos added.
On the Other Side of the World, Philippine Sailors Ralph Santillan, who has been stranded outside South Korea for 18 months, told the New York Times he had to resist thinking of his family: ‘I can do nothing. I must leave to God whatever may happen here.’
“Missing someone was not allowed. If you focus on work, you can not think about it. Your body is heavier if you miss someone.”
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Source: The Epoch Times
