IMO: New Guidance To Facilitate Repatriation Flights For Seafarers
Passenger and repatriation flights are essential to allow stranded seafarers to go home, and for their relief crews to be able to join ships.
Passenger and repatriation flights are essential to allow stranded seafarers to go home, and for their relief crews to be able to join ships.
11 Filipino crew members of Oceanstar 86 are set to fly back to the Philippines, after being forced to quarantine on their vessel in China for 6 months.
Some 400,000 seafarers from across the globe are now stranded on ships, continuing to work but unable to be relieved, in a deepening crew change crisis which threatens trade and maritime safety.
ITF and the IMEC have jointly contributed US$500,000 to the Singapore Shipping Tripartite Alliance Resilience (SG-STAR) Fund to support countries that adopt best practices for crew change.
National COVID-19 containment measures, including travel restrictions and border closures, continue to make it increasingly difficult for ship operators worldwide to conduct required crew changes.
The ITF has been a key player every step of the way from the inception of the new IMO policy to its implementation.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) will be taking enhanced measures to further secure safe port operations and facilitate crew change.
Ministry of Shipping has facilitated more than 1,00,000 crew change on Indian ports and through charter flights. It is the highest number of crew changes in the world.
The ITF and the MUA helped seven Burmese seafarers to stand up for their rights to stop working and get off their ship after 14 months on board.