Major issues are still affecting the shipping industry thanks to Covid-19, says a shipowners’ association.
INTERCARGO - the International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners - says crew change, port entry and changing vaccine requirements along with continuing infection waves and the interpretation of regulations by local authorities are all adding to the stress affecting seafarers.
“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,” said Chairman Dimitrios Fafalios.
”INTERCARGO is concerned that the crisis in Ukraine has distracted from the very real shockwaves that are 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 plight of the seafarer, says Fafalios, is ongoing and requires ‘pan industry commitment’.
”Our efforts to highlight this must not stop, and the industry must never consider what is happening to seafarers today in any way normal.”
