The global shipping industry is suffering from its own version of ‘long Covid’ as seafarers continue to bear the brunt of confusion about rules regarding the pandemic.
This was the concern raised by the International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners (Intercargo), which said the organisation had received several warnings from its members about the negative impact on crew.
“Seafarers worldwide continue to face major issues with crew change, port entry and changing vaccination requirements,” Intercargo chairman Dimitrios Fafalios said.
“New waves of infection continue to affect ports, and once again we are seeing local authorities creating their own interpretation of the rules. This is happening today at ports around the world, and governments and administrations seem not to have learned the lessons of the past two years, as they move to a post-Covid agenda.”
He said Intercargo was concerned that the war in Ukraine had distracted from the real shockwaves that were still affecting the maritime sector as a result of the pandemic.
In a number of ports globally seafarers are finding access to shore leave restricted and in some cases are finding it difficult to access non-emergency medical assistance. The association urged national governments at the highest level to keep the issue at the top of their agenda.
“The situation is ongoing and requires pan-industry commitment. Our efforts to highlight the plight of the seafarer must not stop, and the industry must never consider what is happening to seafarers today in any way normal,” Fafalios said.
