The SG-STAR Fund Taskforce (SFTF), led by the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA), with members from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Singapore Maritime Officer’s Union and Singapore Organisation of Seamen, has developed a CrewSafe audit programme based on Singapore’s crew change model, to establish safe and scalable ‘corridors’ for crew change.
The programme aims to help ensure quality checks on quarantine/holding, medical and swabbing facilities in crew supplying countries.
The CrewSafe audit programme is similar to a quality system audit, based on the ‘PlanDo-Check-Act’ methodology whereby facility operators will need to ensure that the processes and hygiene practices at quarantine/holding and medical/testing facilities shall be held to a standard to afford a certain level of assurance to all stakeholders via:
- Enhanced check-in/check-out procedures, baggage management and isolation of the group-check in of seafarers.
- Enhanced house-keeping procedures for laundry, waste-handling, cleaning of rooms and common areas after crew’s departure.
- Catering procedures and delivery of meals to seafarers.
- Procedures for the extraction of suspected/infected/confirmed cases in infection from hotel premises.
- Procedures for the transfer of seafarers to air/sea port.
The SG-STAR Fund is recently joined with support from more international organisations, such as the Global Maritime Forum Maritime Industry Crew Change Taskforce, INTERTANKO, Norwegian Shipowners’ Association, and World Shipping Council, as well as seven port authorities from Abu Dhabi, Antwerp, Barcelona, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Sines, and Vancouver.
The SFTF has also appointed auditors to conduct assessments at the recently inaugurated IMEC-ITF safe quarantine processes and facilities in Manila, Philippines, namely St. Giles Hotel and Marriot Hotel, as well as the safe quarantine processes by the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association at Marriot Hotel and the AMOSUP Seamen’s Hospital Molecular & PCR Laboratory.
SFTF expressed satisfaction that these facilities fulfil the CrewSafe criteria, complying with the Safe Management Measures, among other requirements.
SFTF is now looking to further enhance the CrewSafe audit programme, which could include the use of electronic tamper-proof smart wearable devices while the crew are in quarantine, as well as secure document processing for onboarding crew.
Considering the endorsement by the auditors, MPA will streamline application procedures for sign-on crew from these accredited facilities boarding ships in Singapore, in line with the objective of enabling crew change in a safe and responsible manner.
The SFTF aims to have a gradual global recognition of the CrewSafe process that identifies the safe and secure facilities. Such acknowledgements by national governments and international organisations will ensure greater participation and bring a long-term solution to crew movement across national borders
stated Nitin Mathur, SSA Council Member and Chair of the SFTF.
In addition, Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive of MPA, commented that Singapore takes its responsibility to facilitate safe crew change seriously. For this reason, they are pleased to work with global tripartite partners to accelerate the development of practical solutions for crew change amid the pandemic.
