In light of the on-going crew change crisis along with the seafarers’ lack of COVID-19 vaccination, INTERCARGO urges that crew must have access to a prioritised vaccination programme.
Namely, the organisation which represent world’s quality dry bulk shipowners noted that the vaccination lottery that is faced by the industry is beginning to hit the dry bulk sector hardest.
As explained, a number of port states suggests that all crew on board a vessel must be vaccinated as a pre-condition of entering their ports, and indeed insisting on a particular brand of vaccine.
This is of course a very serious problem for the industry as a whole, when we consider the high proportion of seafarers that come from developing countries with no access to any vaccine at all. The dry bulk sector is, however, bearing the brunt of this uncertainty due to the nature of its business. Bulk carriers on tramp trading call at many more ports than other shipping sectors and are at the mercy of the nationalised vaccination policy, applying at the port of call.
…says Dimitris Fafalios, Chairman of INTERCARGO.
According to the organization, the UN IMO and global maritime organisations’ efforts must permeate not only every area of the shipping industry, but in addition urgent action outside the maritime sphere is needed by all government leaders at the highest level.
Co-ordinating a worldwide vaccination programme for seafarers under WHO and making WHO approved vaccinations available to seafarers in their home country is an urgent priority.
Seafarers who have not yet been able to receive a vaccination should be permitted to travel to and from their country of domicile and their place of work without restriction.
…Dimitris Fafalios added.
To date, in the bulk carrier sector, there are close to 12,000 vessels employing over 300,000 seafarers globally, calling at more than 1,500 ports around the world in non-regular (tramp) voyages to even the most remote areas of the globe.
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INTERCARGO believes that world leaders should ensure that seafarers are designated as key workers and have access to a prioritised vaccination programme; that they do not miss out on vaccinations while travelling for work and that they are able to access the required number of doses within the timescales recommended by the WHO.
Government leaders must commit to collective action and take to task their counterparts who fail to appreciate that the welfare of seafarers is not only a humanitarian issue, but that the world’s seafarers are responsible for keeping global trade moving.
