IMO and crew changes

Time to free the unsung heroes

The IMO is upping the pressure on world governments to back its efforts to deal with the increasingly difficult problem of crew changes during the pandemic. Adrian Ladbury reports.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has compelled many parts of the world to enforce a public lockdown in a bid to flatten the transmission curve among the population. International borders have been closed and modes of transport internationally, nationally, and locally have been drastically reduced to impose physical and social isolation to contain the spread of the virus.

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) describes seafarers as the unsung heroes of this pandemic. This is because the world relies on them to transport more than 80% of trade by volume, including vital food and medical goods, energy and raw materials, as well as manufactured goods across the globe. They have also been collateral victims of the crisis, as travel restrictions have left tens of thousands of them stranded on ships, or unable to join ships.

The difficulties surrounding repatriation and crew changes also have a major impact on the shipping industry and have been identified as a priority issue. The IMO and other organisations have urged governments to intervene. The matter has now even been taken up by the UN SecretaryGeneral who expressed his concern about the growing humanitarian and safety crisis facing seafarers around the world, and called on all countries to formally designate seafarers and other marine personnel as “key workers” and ensure crew changeovers can safely take place.

‘‘The difficulties surrounding repatriation and crew changes also have a major impact on the shipping industry and have been identified as a priority issue. The IMO and other organisations have urged governments to intervene.’’

The IMO says that it is encouraged by the progress made in many countries to designate seafarers as key workers and facilitate crew changes and repatriation. But the organisation remains very concerned about the many countries where restrictions are still in place for seafarers. “We are on the verge of a humanitarian crisis and a real safety issue – we cannot expect seafarers currently on ships to stay at sea forever. Many have already been on tours of duty significantly longer than the 11 months agreed by ILO as the maximum length of seafarers’ contracts. It is the responsibility of governments to ensure seafarers and ships can continue moving, to enable the world to overcome and recover from the pandemic and keep the global economy afloat,” states the organisation.

In mid-July IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim urged further Member States to sign up to pledges to ensure that the more than 200,000 seafarers can be repatriated after months on board ship beyond their original contracts. A similar number of seafarers are waiting to join ships and this has become a serious problem for the crews.

Mr Lim made the call in a circular letter that was issued to disseminate the pledges made by Governments in a joint statement issued following a United Kingdom convened summit on crew changes held in London on 9 July.

During the Summit, 13 Governments from across the world - Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, the UK and the US - agreed to a Joint statement of the international maritime virtual summit on crew changes. This pledged to “urgently resolve” the situation.

Pledges in the joint statement include: designating seafarers as key workers; accepting seafarers’ ID documents as evidence of their key worker status; implementing the industry approved protocols for ensuring safe ship crew changeover; reviewing national quarantine restrictions; and increasing access, as soon as possible, to commercial flights to and from the principal countries of origin of seafarers.

Secretary-General Lim urged Member States to commit to the principles in the joint statement and to disseminate it widely to all parties concerned. He invited Member States wishing to sign the statement to contact the Government of the United Kingdom.

OPENING REMARKS During his opening remarks at the summit Mr Lim highlighted the importance of implementing the Protocols designed to ensure safe crew changes and called for concrete action for seafarers.

“I have personally endorsed the crew change protocols developed by a broad cross-section of maritime industry organisations to ensure safe crew changes. The wideranging protocols contain recommendations to maritime administrations and other relevant national authorities, such as health, customs, immigration, border control, seaport and civil aviation authorities. They address the roles of shipping companies, agents and representatives, crewing agencies and the individual seafarers themselves, and also extend to seaports, airports and airlines involved in travel operations for ship crew changes,” said Mr Lim.

“It is imperative that Governments implement these protocols. To ensure their implementation, cooperation and collaboration between the various government agencies involved is essential. It is time to act for seafarers. Safe ship operations and crew wellbeing should not be compromised. The humanitarian crisis seafarers face has implications for all of us, for the world economy and for the safety of life at sea and the environment,” concluded the Secretary General.