Nautilus has reported that a global energy major, that remains anonymous, has banned 15 seafarers from joining its oil and gas tanker fleet as part of its COVID-19 coronavirus containment strategy.
It has been reported that the company advised that seafarers from Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Thailand and Italy would not be allowed to on-sign, from Tuesday March 10.
In addition, seafarers that have visited any of the countries mentioned above, would also not be allowed to on-sign, the company said in a statement to senior officers. This information was tweeted by ‘The Secret Captain’, which appears to be from a master in charge of commercial vessels in the Straits of Hormuz, Far East and Asia.
Moreover, the energy company also implemented crew changes restrictions, as crew changes will not be conducted in China, South Korea or Egypt. Similarly, agents in Singapore reported similar restrictions imposed.
Nautilus added that after documents emailed to its offices, the company stated that at the end of the 45 days, the company shall arrange for a ‘mass crew change’ at convenient ports with minimum disruption to seafarers who need to be urgently disembarked.
The crew will join the major’s vessels at the outer port limits of several ports including Singapore and the Panama Canal.
For the time being, questions arose as to how the company plans to conduct the mass crew change. According to updated information, all crew members, from all nationalities, will have to undergo medical assessment to rule out COVID-19 at the port of embarkation before joining their ships.
As showed above, the twitter account indicates that there are concerns over seafarer job security due to the restrictions, commenting that “Colleagues at home on leave will stop being paid when their leave expires. They are ready to rejoin ships but due to these restrictions they cannot.”
In the meantime, ETF issued a letter to the European Commission, outlining the risks of the coronavirus to the transport workers, focusing on seafarers’ jobs and a contingency plan to remedy this.
Concluding, Nautilus advised members who are concerned or are experiencing difficulties related to the COVID-19 outbreak may contact their industrial organiser for assistance.
