Tag: Neptune Declaration

The Neptune Declaration Crew Change Indicator covering the second quarter of 2023 has been released and will be the last indicator in its current form.

The Neptune Declaration Crew Change Indicator for January shows that the number of seafarers onboard vessels beyond the expiry of their contract has decreased from 4.7% to 3.7% in the last month. However, the omicron variant has resulted in some renewed crew change difficulties.

During 2021, shipping industry saw many challenging events; from the pandemic implications on ship operations and the decarbonization push to the huge crisis incident of Evergiven, but managed to stay resilient through collaboration and synergy – this is when wonderful things can be achieved!

The Panama Maritime Authority has provided its support to national and international actions aimed at the well-being of seafarers, valuing and assuming that they are “Essential Workers”.

The Neptune Declaration Crew Change Indicator for August revealed that only 15.3% of seafarers are vaccinated, according to the first vaccination data.

Höegh Autoliners together with 800 organisations signed the Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing, which calls on government bodies to recognise seafarers as key workers and give them priority access to Covid-19 vaccines.

The Neptune Declaration Crew Change Indicator for July suggests that the crew change crisis is getting worse.

The second Neptune Declaration Crew Change Indicator was published on 1st June, revealing that the number of seafarers onboard vessels beyond the expiry of their contract of employment has risen to 7.4% from 5.8% in May, representing a 24.1% relative increase. 

The best practices serve as a framework for charterers to help facilitate crew changes and work with ship owners to minimize the disruptions to operations – to the benefit of all stakeholders involved, not least the seafarers.

IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim has welcomed the industry-led Neptune Declaration, which calls for seafarers to be designated as key workers to end the crew change crisis.