Frustration erupts over slow pace of seafarer's vaccinations

THE organisation that represents ship-management companies has become so frustrated with how long it is taking to resolve the crew-change crisis and to make seafarers a priority group for vaccination against Covid-19 - that it has thus broken ranks with the main shipping bodies over the issue.

In a statement last week, InterManager said it will "work separately to obtain much-needed Covid-19 vaccines to protect the world's more than 1.5 million seafarers and thereby keep international trade routes open".

InterManager president Mark O'Neil said: "Global organisations have talked their way round in circles and still, we are no further forward in providing a vaccination programme for seafarers who are vital in ensuring that world trade and aid continues to be delivered.

"InterManager says enough is enough. Realising that the international efforts have not been sufficient in recognising the importance of the vaccination of seafarers, we will now work on sourcing vaccinations separately through legitimate channels, to enable our members to vaccinate their seafarers as soon as possible and to support others within the maritime industry to do the same."

InterManager complained that although the UN has designated seafarers as "essential workers", only 58 countries have so far followed this directive and are prioritising seafarers to enable them to travel to and from vessels. In addition, vast numbers of seafarers originate from developing countries where the official rollout of vaccinations is hampered by the availability of vaccines, thus compounding the problem.

Mr O'Neil stressed that InterManager will continue to collaborate and give full support to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and fellow shipping industry NGOs in sourcing vaccination for seafarers. However, he expressed disappointment over how slowly international efforts are moving, saying: "The IMO is hampered by having to negotiate through the United Nations, World Health Organisation and others. Sitting back and waiting for these bureaucratic institutions is only part of the solution.

"The world's seafarers need our help and as ship and crew managers, we must work together to do all we can to ensure that their lives and livelihoods are protected."

A spokesperson for the main shipowners' body, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), stressed to The Business Times that it is working with partners such as the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and others, including InterManager, to ensure this issue is addressed as soon as possible.

A couple of weeks ago, ICS was instrumental in pushing forward two resolutions passed by the International Labour Organization (ILO), calling on countries to prioritise seafarers. These followed a ruling against member states, which in turn has eased the unacceptable number of seafarers caught by the crew-change crisis - stranded on ships because of movement or travel restrictions, or unable to join ships as crew to replace those stranded.

ICS sees these latest resolutions as another important step in holding governments to account and getting them to act. The World Health Organization (WHO) and other UN bodies also called for seafarers to be prioritised for vaccination; last week, Belgium agreed to prioritise Covid-19 vaccines for seafarers on its vessels. ICS issued guidance to companies on vaccine issues and to seafarers as well, to counter misinformation on vaccines.

There is no doubt that shipping industry-related bodies are doing their best to alleviate the crew-change crisis, but perhaps the best hope comes from more general attempts to establish international travel protocols for everybody.

In that context, global ferry industry association Interferry has welcomed plans by the European Union (EU) for a voluntary Digital Green Certificate (DGC) to facilitate safe travel during the pandemic. The DGC proposal, announced last month by the EU's executive arm, is being fast-tracked by the European Parliament, with the target of being adopted by June 2021.

The ferry industry is highly dependent on summer passenger revenues and operators incurred unsustainable losses during 2020 lockdown restrictions, when the initial ban on all but essential travel sent passenger traffic plunging by 75 to 100 per cent. Interferry says it believes that early adoption of the voluntary initiative is crucial to international ferry operators to avoid the prospect of losing a second consecutive peak season. It is also valuable to passengers because it provides assurance of streamlined travel.

Interferry chief executive Mike Corrigan said: "We support this initiative and believe similar aims should be embraced not only within the EU, but also worldwide for international ferry travel. Such an initiative does not stop people travelling if they don't have a certificate, but it will make travel procedures far easier for those who have this documentation."

While the EU development is encouraging, it is difficult to see widespread travel being a realistic prospect this year. Until that happens, the chances of routinely smooth crew changes as were normal before Covid-19 must be small. Well-intentioned attempts to obtain special vaccine supplies for seafarers are also unlikely to be successful.