South Africa has joined more than 50 countries globally in formally ratifying a resolution that declares seafarers as essential workers.
If all goes well, this may designate seafarers as ‘frontline workers’ so that they receive a Covid-19 vaccine as a matter of high priority.
According to a statement released by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on Friday, 55 member countries and two associates had ratified the resolution by the end of last week, with three African countries – South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya – among those on the list.
Those that have ratified the resolution include Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominica, Egypt, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, Lebanon, Liberia, Marshall Islands, Moldova, Montenegro, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Yemen; associate members, Faroe, Hong Kong (China).
This follows a long campaign to implement relevant measures to allow stranded seafarers to be repatriated and others to join ships, and to ensure access to medical care.
The recent ‘Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change’, adopted by more than 600 organisations, has the same objective - to prioritise seafarers for Covid-19 vaccinations and speed up the repatriation of the hundreds of thousands stranded aboard ships beyond the expiry of their contracts.
