Panama develops protocols for crew change

The Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) has successfully helped to send home some 3,712 passengers and crew from different nationalities and diverse kinds of ships, who were within its national waters.

PMA supported the change of crew through different ways, such as:

• Ship to ship Mode;
• Group Mode;
• Isthmic transference Mode;
• Crew disembark for repatriation through charter flights.

To achieve this, PMA has developed handbooks which shall be published in the institutional webpage and sent via e-mail to the Shipping Lines and other involved parties, altogether with the standardized forms.

Our valuable seafarers are essential workers, whose contribution to the world sanitary crisis has been immeasurable at keeping the supply chain working. They need to go home to guarantee their physical and psychological wellbeing and comply with the international conventions. This will promote and potentiate the lives of Panamanian Seafarers

PMA highlighted.

This objective will also be enforced by holding discussion panels to widen the support and coordinate the crew changes to boost the national workforce. At the moment, the crew changes will take place only between Panamanians or between foreigners and Panamanians.

Humanitarian flights will be used to leverage the country´s logistic platform. These will be coordinated by the shipping lines or by the national embassies of the crew members, following the guidelines of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama.

Last March, Panama established a milestone in the issue of humanitarian management, by becoming the only country to support the Zaandam and Rotterdam Cruises. From then on, it has been looking for ways to collaborate with the international maritime industry without compromising the sanitary integrity of the country.

What is more, national and foreign crew members from different ships were assisted. Among the assisted ships were: Monarch (Pullman Tours), Rhapsody of The Seas (Caribbean), Carnival Imagination, Carnival Inspiration, Carnival Miracle, (Carnival Line) and Carnival Princess (Princess Cruises from Carnival Line Group); the Silver Muse and Silver Explorer Cruises, (Silversea Cruises).