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The shipping industry is moving ’90 percent of everything.’ It really is. Whenever you pick up a gadget, put on a piece of clothes, buy food in the supermarket, fill gasoline in your car, or switch on your electricity, most likely the global supply chain that is shipping... 1/24
...has been involved.
The industry comprises some 60,000 deep sea vessels (depending on your cut-off in terms of size and type) and employs about 1.3 million people onboard the ships at any given time. These seafarers are mostly from developing... 2/24
The industry comprises some 60,000 deep sea vessels (depending on your cut-off in terms of size and type) and employs about 1.3 million people onboard the ships at any given time. These seafarers are mostly from developing... 2/24
...countries, - the Philippines, India, Indonesia – or from East Europe, China etc.
The world has more or less readily accepted that lock-downs were needed to curb the spread of Covid-19, and equally quickly grasped that certain workers needed to be exempted from... 3/24
The world has more or less readily accepted that lock-downs were needed to curb the spread of Covid-19, and equally quickly grasped that certain workers needed to be exempted from... 3/24
...the lock-downs. We all understand that doctors, nurses and emergency services are required whilst most of us work from home, and even air crew and lorry drivers etc. were understandably exempted from the quarantine and travel restrictions imposed on the rest of us... 4/24
...in the name of securing supply of essential goods. Who wants their supermarket shelves to go empty?
The only reason that seafarers have not been designated #essentialworkers, and exempted from the travel restrictions that apply to non-essential workers, is that... 5/24
The only reason that seafarers have not been designated #essentialworkers, and exempted from the travel restrictions that apply to non-essential workers, is that... 5/24
...the ships have been able to continue the supply of vital goods around the world, despite the seafarers not being able to be relieved. That has been going on and can continue to go on for a while, but the reality is that the collective mental health of these key-workers... 6/24
...trapped at sea is deteriorating every day, making the inaction of governments worldwide a ticking time bomb – both in terms of supply chain security, but certainly also in terms of the humanitarian crisis brewing.
Ship owners and managers have been faced with three... 7/24
Ship owners and managers have been faced with three... 7/24
...primary bottlenecks in the past now soon four months:
- The home countries from where the seafarers hail have shut down their borders, rendering movement of crew into and out of these countries impossible.
- The ports that the ships call have denied shore leave or... 8/24
- The home countries from where the seafarers hail have shut down their borders, rendering movement of crew into and out of these countries impossible.
- The ports that the ships call have denied shore leave or... 8/24
...crew change, in the name of lockdowns. Movement to and from airports has been denied.
- Commercial airlines as a result of the demand disappearing, have stopped most scheduled flights.
Since about three weeks ago, we have started to see some relaxation of these... 9/24
- Commercial airlines as a result of the demand disappearing, have stopped most scheduled flights.
Since about three weeks ago, we have started to see some relaxation of these... 9/24
...constraints. As an example, India has allowed crew change for ships calling Indian ports, and also allowed charter flights to depart India with seafarers. Some ports have started allowing limited crew change, but mostly with bottlenecks in place ‘on the ground’... 10/24
...through trivial road-blocks such as permits, visas, notice requirements, holding facilities, screening capacity, timing-coincidence requirements (planes must arrive/depart whilst ship is in port) etc. All making it extremely difficult to execute crew change even in... 11/24
...ports we today hold out as ‘best options’ for crew change. We are today chartering flights, pooling ships to and from ports, and mobilising enormous resources and efforts for very little gain. On-signers may sometimes be able to join but off-signers can in many cases... 12/24
...not go home, due to a lack of permits so even if off the ships they are still trapped.
The bottom line is that it’s all too little too late! Despite IMO with the industry having served up the operating procedures for safe crew change to governments worldwide... 13/24
The bottom line is that it’s all too little too late! Despite IMO with the industry having served up the operating procedures for safe crew change to governments worldwide... 13/24
...and despite the repeated cry from industry organisations about the need to act now(!), the relaxations that we have seen are not enough to even catch up with the backlog of delayed relief and as a consequence stress and anxiety both with the people onboard the ships... 14/24
...but certainly also with their colleagues ashore who have been anxiously waiting for a contract and a ship, continue to grow.
You may ask why haven’t government acted? The answer is a cowardly ‘beggar-thy-neighbour’ policy where many countries take the view that... 15/24
You may ask why haven’t government acted? The answer is a cowardly ‘beggar-thy-neighbour’ policy where many countries take the view that... 15/24
...this is for their neighbouring countries to solve. We are all beneficiaries of the efficient, global supply chain that moves ’90 percent of everything’, but very few public leaders and bureaucrats seem to recognize the reciprocal relationship with the people who... 16/24
...actually man and operate that supply chain, and take their responsibility seriously.
Crew change is not complex, or risky. Of the ~16,000 people onboard ships managed by @angloeasterngrp at any given time, we have had precisely zero confirmed cases of Covid-19 since... 17/24
Crew change is not complex, or risky. Of the ~16,000 people onboard ships managed by @angloeasterngrp at any given time, we have had precisely zero confirmed cases of Covid-19 since... 17/24
...the start of the outbreak. By nature of their job, seafarers are working mostly in isolation, and they understand risk management better than most so even when in port know how to protect themselves. The anxiety and concern felt by each seafarer, however, has... 18/24
...never been greater. Studies have shown that the one thing that shifts the emotional balance of a seafarer is uncertainty about the duration of the contract. They have a legal and humanitarian right to go home at the end of their contract; a right which it is incumbent... 19/24
...on governments worldwide to protect. Covid-19 has added to the stresses of their job through concerns about their families in lockdown, their interaction with shore personnel in various ports and the sense of abandonment that they feel despite having gone the extra... 20/24
...mile, extending their tour of duty and keeping us all supplied during this time of crisis. We have the necessary safety protocols for crew change and these have been accepted and distributed by the United Nations to member governments. But still seafarers remain... 21/24
...trapped onboard because of local bureaucracy and a lack of urgency. This cannot go on; we cannot take these professionals that serve and ensure global trade for granted anymore.
Seafarers are the lifeblood of global commerce and in many ways the #unsungheroes of the... 22/24
Seafarers are the lifeblood of global commerce and in many ways the #unsungheroes of the... 22/24
...world at this time. They are the #invisiblehands that ensure that we actually have the food, energy and medical supplies needed to fight the pandemic. Government leaders must get involved at operational level and cut through the bureaucracy, adjust immigration and... 23/24
...visa procedures and lift the continued imposition of travel restrictions for these #keyworkers. We need their focus on this issue now! The solutions are simple. They do not need complicated negotiations or funding, but they do need political will and leadership! 24/24