Crew Change Crisis To Worsen Day By Day!

Aggregated data from top ten ship managers shows that the number of seafarers onboard vessels beyond the expiry of their contract has continued rising from 7.2% to 8.8% in the last month. The number of seafarers onboard vessels for over 11 months has risen from 0.4% to 1%. Since the launch of the Indicator in May, the number of seafarers onboard vessels beyond the expiry of their contract has risen from 5.8% to 8.8%, which corresponds to a 51,7% relative increase. The number of seafarers onboard vessels for over 11 months has increased from 0.4% to 1%, corresponding to a 150% relative increase. The Maritime Labour Convention states that the maximum continuous period a seafarer should serve on board a vessel without leave is 11 months.

Members of the Neptune Declaration taskforce comment on the latest development:

ONE CEO’s Comments

“Seafarers play a crucial role in keeping global supply chains running, delivering essential healthcare, foodstuff, consumer products and just in time manufacturing components. Without them 80% of our shopping baskets would be empty. We are all indebted to resolve the crew change crisis now. The difficulties in carrying out crew changes can easily be overcome by Governments if they really put their minds to it. Where there is a will, there is a way,” says Jeremy Nixon, CEO, ONE.

ITW Federation General Secretary’s Comments

“The crew change crisis has been ongoing for more than a year and a half, with the highest cost falling on seafarers and their families’ wellbeing. The situation is going from bad to worse. We need more than lip service from governments, we need concrete action that allows crew changes to be carried out in a safe manner,” says Stephen Cotton, General Secretary, International Transport Workers’ Federation.

ICS Secretary General’s Comments

“Resolving the crew change crisis will require all seafarers to have priority access to vaccines. There has been some progress, for instance in the United States and in parts of Europe, which we welcome, but the vast majority of seafarers are still unable to be vaccinated. It is urgent that countries prioritize the vaccination of international seafarers,“ says Guy Platten, Secretary General, International Chamber of Shipping.

Global Maritime Forum’s Comments

“The latest data shows that the crew change crisis is far from over. It is important that all stakeholders work together to deliver on our shared responsibility of protecting seafarers and making sure that they can return home safely,” says Kasper Søgaard, Head of Research, Global Maritime Forum.

Currently Onboard Seafarers

The Neptune Declaration Crew Change Indicator builds on aggregated data from 10 leading ship managers: Anglo-Eastern, Bernhard Schulte, Columbia Shipmanagement, Fleet Management (FLEET), OSM, Synergy Marine, Thome, V.Group, Wallem, and Wilhelmsen Ship Management, which collectively have about 90,000 seafarers currently onboard.

Key Developments Highlights

The contributing ship managers have, as part of the reporting, also highlighted the following key developments that have impacted crew changes in the past month:

• Continual high infection rates and subsequent domestic lockdowns are still challenging crew changes and causing disruption to crew movements.
• A decrease of daily inbound flights to the Philippines as well as the travel ban announced by Philippine Government for seafarers traveling from UAE, Oman, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan are causing a general disruption to the crew movements.
• Travel restrictions continue to prevent seafarers from going back home and many flights have been cancelled
• Leading maritime crew nations continue to have low vaccination rates and seafarers continue to have limited vaccine access.

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Source : Global Maritime Forum