• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Library
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Key Countries Agree to Help Bring Home Seafarers Stuck on Ships

Key Countries Agree to Help Bring Home Seafarers Stuck on Ships

Global Shipping Industry
Source: Bloomberg
July 10, 2020
Bloomberg

More than a dozen countries with crucial global shipping hubs agreed to ease port and border restrictions for seafarers to help the more than 200,000 workers still stranded on vessels return home.

Nations including the U.S., Singapore, Greece and the United Arab Emirates said they would ease coronavirus-related restrictions for seafarers and boost commercial flights to help facilitate crew swaps. The pact comes after months of pressure on governments, ports and shippers to find ways to get workers off vessels after a rash of suicides and an uptick in expired contracts.

Seafarers will now get international recognition as “key workers” to enable freer movement and quicker repatriation, following a virtual International Maritime Summit hosted by the U.K. Thursday. Some crews have spent more than a year at sea, exceeding limits under an maritime agreements, as border restrictions to halt the spread of COVID-19 and canceled flights limited travel.

“It is time to act for seafarers,” said Kitack Lim, secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization. “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.“

While cruise companies have been able to get most seafarers home by pooling thousands of workers and chartering flights, or in some cases taking them home on luxury liners empty of passengers, the majority of crews on merchant vessels have been stranded.

Another 200,000 seafarers haven’t been able to get back onto ships because of travel restrictions to relieve crew who have finished their contracts.

“What we need is for every country around the world to acknowledge seafarers and allow them to get home,” said Chirag Bahri, director of regions at International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network. “They’re not robots. They need to get home.”

While a growing number of ports are now allowing crew changes, management companies say the restrictions have made it difficult to relieve substantial numbers. Ship managing firm Wallem Group Ltd. says the company has only been able to execute about 20% of their usual crew changes, according to Chief Executive Officer Frank Coles. About 40% of their 4,000 seafarers on vessels have completed their contracts and 10% have been at sea for more than a year.

In the Philippines, the government on Friday designated Subic Bay north of Manila Bay as a hub for international crew change. The Philippines is among the top countries supplying workers in the shipping industry.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Bloomberg

Bombardier CEO Sees Blue Skies and Less Debt After Major Overhaul

More from this author

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • karen-jones.jpg

    Watch: Four Industry Disrupters Impacting Logistics

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • THE SPACE AROUND A COMPUTER KEYBOARD IS CLUSTERED WITH IMAGES GENERIC SHIPPING BOXES

    How Suppliers Can Overcome E-Commerce Supply Chain Challenges

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • A SEATED PERSON HOLDS A SMARTPHONE, SHOPPING

    Retail Consumer Data: The Key to Personalization, or Privacy Violation?

    Regulation & Compliance
  • TWO MEN IN SUITS ENGAGE IN CONVERSATION ACROSS A COFFEE TABLE HOLDING AN OPEN LAPTOPIN AN OFFICE

    For Shippers, Disruption Means Opportunity to Rethink Carrier Strategy

    LTL/Truckload Services
  • A BLUE AND WHITE JET BLUE PLANE FLIES ABOVE A YELLOW SPIRIT PLANE ON THE TARMAC OF AN AIRPORT

    Biden’s Antitrust Push Across Agencies Is Working to Block Deals

    Air Cargo

Digital Edition

Scb q1 2023 cover

2023 Supply Chain Management Resource Guide: Packing for a Difficult Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

  • Expanding Apparel Brand Scales Seamlessly with E-Commerce Technology

  • How a Global LSP Scaled its Security Program and Won More Business

Visit Our Sponsors

Orderful Yang Ming Alithya
Barcoding Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics
CoEnterprise Data Capture Deposco
E2open GAINSystems Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Holman Logistics Honeywell Intelligrated
IFM Infor Inmar
Keelvar Kinaxis Korber
Lean Solutions Group 2H Liberty SBF Locus Robotics
Logility LogistiVIEW Lucas Systems
MCA Connect MPO Nvidia
Old Dominion OpenText ORTEC
Overhaul Parsyl PMMI
QIMA Redwood Logistics Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash
Saddle Creek Logistics Schneider Dedicated Setlog Holding AG
Ship4WD Shipwell Shyft
Sourcemap Tecsys TGW Systems
Thomson Reuters Tive Trailer Bridge
Vecna Robotics Verity
Verusen
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing