Amid COVID-19 outbreak, more than 2.000 UK seafarers are stranded onboard ships around the global due to the lockdown restrictions, as BBC reported.
In light of the situation, the UK Chamber of Shipping urges the UK government to become the first to set a global plan to free seafarers and get them back home.
The government from its side informed that is working a plan to ensure that UK crew will return to their families.
In the meantime, so as to help governments establish coordinated procedures to facilitate the safe movement of seafarers, IMO issued a 12-step plan to 174 member states, providing them with a roadmap to free seafarers from their COVID-19 lockdown.
What is more, International Chamber of Shipping estimates that around 150.000 of seafarers globally are stuck onboard cruise ships, transporters, tankers or other type of vessels.
To be more specific, UK Chamber of Shipping reported that up to 2.000, or around one in 13 of the UK’s 25.750 seafarers were among the stranded.
According to BBC, Mark Dickinson, general secretary of Nautilus International wrote a letter praising the UK government to declare seafarers as key workers and allow them to travel.
Overall, amid the coronavirus pandemic, the London-based charity Seafarers UK decided to create a new “Seafarers UK COVID-19 Emergency Fund” of £2 million in order to support crewmembers during this unprecedented crisis.
