The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore took additional measures to further secure port operations and facilitate crew change, enabling trade flow continuity through the Port of Singapore, and Singapore to play its part in the global supply chain.
To remind, MPA has already issued enhanced precautionary measures for ships calling at our port to further protect crew, shore personnel and the local community.
It has been now stated that from September 1st 2020, MPA supported by PSA Singapore, will use its existing floating accommodation to set up a Crew Facilitation Centre (CFC) at the Tanjong Pagar Terminal.
It is a self-contained facility with an onsite medical centre, testing and holding facilities. Dedicated to sign-on crew, the CFC will house the crew for up to 48 hours prior to them boarding their ships, if required, when their ship and flight schedule do not match. The CFC will facilitate more crew change to take place in Singapore and keep both the ships and local community safe. Sign-off crew, based on current procedures, will proceed to depart Singapore or stay at existing designated holding facilities Seacare Hotel or accommodation vessel “POSH Bawean” for up to 48 hours, and be strictly segregated from the community.
Furthermore, according to crew change procedures, MPA advises that:
Crew members who has stayed at least 14 days from specific low-risk countries/regions to sign-on to ships in Singapore will either no longer be required to serve a stay-at-home isolation in the originating country/region or only serve a shorter isolation of seven days prior to departure for Singapore. Crew members from other countries/regions will continue to serve an isolation period of 14 days prior to departure.
In addition, ship owners, managers and agents should ensure the pre-departure COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests are carried out at government-approved or ISO 15189-accredited testing facilities.
As a global hub port and international maritime centre, Singapore remains committed to facilitate successful crew changes in a safe manner.
To accelerate the process and propagate best practices of safe crew change, MPA, Singapore Shipping Association, Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union, and Singapore Organisation of Seamen, will establish a S$1 million Singapore Shipping Tripartite Alliance Resilience (SG-STAR) Fund to work with stakeholders in seafaring nations on concrete solutions for safe crew changes, such as initiatives on best practices for crew holding facilities and PCR testing centres.
Supported by Mr Kitack Lim, Secretary-General of International Maritime Organization, and Mr Guy Ryder, Director-General of International Labour Organization, Singapore welcomes like-minded international partners to join in this tripartite initiative and contribute to this Alliance fund so that actions can be scaled up.
Concluding, Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Transport stated that
This has been a trying time for seafarers … It is therefore very important for all stakeholders to come together to ensure safe port operations and safe crew changes.
