By Kevin Policarpo
Captain Tejinder Singh is among the 100,000 sailors that are still stuck onboard their ships as a new variant of Covid-19 is spreading around the world. The captain of a bulk carrier from India, Singh notes that being at sea for long periods of time is exhausting and has heard reports about sailors killing themselves due to stress and isolation. Whenever he communicates with his kids through the Internet, the hardest question for him to answer is “’Papa when are you coming home?’”[1] Captain Singh’s situation is mirrored by thousands of sailors, continuing their work while being prohibited to return to their families and relax.
The Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus has rocked parts of Asia, especially India and the Philippines. The latter two are important to the shipping industry as their sailors make up over 33% of the world’s commercial seafarers.[2]
The new breakouts have caused several nations to keep visiting sailors from coming ashore to stop the virus from spreading. The UN describes the stranded sailors’ situation as “…a humanitarian crisis at sea and says governments should class seafarers as essential workers.”[3] With the shipping industry handling around 90% of the world’s trade, the crisis will end up threatening the supply chains that makes our world work.
Stranded Mariners
As new Covid cases are appearing, the major maritime nations are concerned about another crew change crisis. The International Chamber of Shipping’s (ICS) Secretary General Guy Platten states that “Governments with significant access to vaccines have a “moral responsibility” towards seafarers…”[4] Currently, 60 member countries of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) have classed seafarers as important workers. This classification will allow for “…seafarers to travel more freely and return to their homes, and give them better access to vaccines.”
In July alone, “…almost 9% of merchant sailors have been stuck aboard their ships beyond their contracts’ expiry…”[5] In normal times, sailors are allowed to work for 11 months maximum under contract and the merchant fleets rotate 50,000 sailors on and off ships per month. The requirements that sailors must pass to come ashore range from “…mandatory testing for crews who come from or have visited certain countries, to outright bans on crew changes and berthing operations.”[6]
While vaccines are being sent out around the world, vaccinating seafarers has been a slow process. This sluggish pace is threating the shipping industry as more outbreaks will cause “…trade disruptions, endangering maritime workers and potentially slowing economies trying to pull out of pandemic slowdowns.”[7] These concerns have come about as the United States and Europe are recovering economically from the pandemic and have begun stockpiling goods in preparation for Christmas.
Esben Poulsson, chairman of the ICS states that these concerns along with new outbreaks of Covid-19 will be a perfect storm to disrupt sea trade. All signs are pointing to another crisis for global shipping, especially as “…the industry seemed to be emerging from months of port restrictions that hurt the ability of shipping firms to swap out crews and left hundreds of thousands stuck at sea for months.”[8]
Gard P&I (also known as Assuranceforeningen Gard), which is the largest marine insurer in the industry, has seen an increase in claims for Covid-19 infections. According to Alice Amundsen, vice president of people claims in Gard P&I, “There were more than 100 outbreaks monthly in April and May that struck vessels and offshore mobile units such as drilling platforms involving multiple sick seafarers in each case…”[9] During the peak of the pandemic between July and August in 2020, Gard had around “…80 outbreaks on vessels and offshore units that infected some 160 people…”[10]
More Vaccinations For Mariners
Even with the creation of the Covid vaccine, the virus will maintain a presence for years to come and continue to have small outbreaks onboard ships and at ports. While the US has been assisting in global vaccination efforts, most sailors are dependent on their home countries administering the vaccine. Over half of the 1.6 million sailors in the shipping industry come from India, Indonesia, and the Philippines which are lagging behind developed nations in conducting vaccinations. The lack of international coordination in distributing the vaccines is due to the absence of an “…organization or company keeping track of the situation for all workers across various companies, ships and ports.”[11]
The ICS estimates around “…35,000-40,000 seafarers — or just 2.5% of the global pool — are vaccinated.”[12] To meet demand, the major maritime countries have been creating programs to help vaccinate sailors. For example, for India has been undertaking inoculation programs for its over 200,000 seafarers. However as of May of this year, “…roughly 14% of India’s seafarers had received a single dose of the vaccine, and 1% had received both doses…”[13] Chirag Bahri, director of regions of the International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network in India stated that while governments have prioritized seafarers for giving vaccinations, they are not receiving their second doses as they’re handled by local clinics.
In the Philippines, multiple firms are working with the government to procure vaccines for their seafarers. Gerardo Borromeo, who is vice chairmen of the Manila branch of the ICS states that 99% of his country’s seafarers are unvaccinated. This is bad for the shipping industry as “…the Philippines supplies some 460,000 seafarers, or 25% of the global maritime work force, according to the government.”[14]
In Singapore, multiple maritime organizations within the country have created the CrewSafe program with Det Norske Veritas (DNV) serving as an auditor. CrewSafe focuses on giving “…quality checks on quarantine/holding, medical, and swabbing facilities in countries engaged in crew supply.”[15] CrewSafe’s goal is to increase the capacity for owners and managers to rotate crews onboard and offboard ships.
DNV Maritime CEO Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen states that “DNV is fully supporting and facilitating this programme as seafarers are the true backbone of our global industry…”[16] Nilssen also states that seafarers play a key role in global trade but acknowledged the physical, mental, and psychological impacts that are affecting the crews that are still onboard. Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) Chief Executive Quah Ley Hoon was pleased to have DNV “…on board due to its renowned quality audits and look forward to working with our tripartite partners in ensuring facilities remain safe for crew change amid the pandemic.”[17]
Ben Cowling, head of University of Hong Kong’s department of epidemiology and biostatistics states that “The easiest solution would be for every port to have a clinic and offer vaccinations to all seafarers coming through…”[18] Currently, a handful of countries are following the U.S. in providing vaccinations to seafarers coming into their ports regardless of their nationality. Cowling says some maritime workers are avoiding the rules and leaving their ships, which gives opportunities for the virus to spread. If these evasions of the rules are not dealt with, further port shutdowns and outbreaks onboard ships will continue. This, in turn, would reduce number of available vessels in the shipping industry as the number of available seafarers runs out due to either having Covid, being stuck on a Covid-infected ship, or not be allowed into ports without being vaccinated.
A promising trend is the example of the Ports of Los Angele and Long Beach where Port of Long Beach executive director, Mario Cordero reported on August 5th that the Port is working with the Long Beach Public Health Department to provide free vaccinations to mariners entering the Port. Cordero noted that 4,000 vaccinations have been administered to seafarers since May, 2021.
More Seafarers Needed
With all of these complications, the shipping industry will face a shortage of merchant seafarers within five years. According to a study published by the ICS and the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), “The shipping industry is already struggling with crewing shortfalls due to the coronavirus pandemic, a situation that will exacerbate expected labor supply problems over the next few years…”[19] The same study also estimated the current number of seafarers at 1.89 million and were operating onboard 74,000 vessels in the world’s merchant fleet.
BIMCO’s Seafarer Workforce Report, published in 2015 predicted that “…an additional 89,510 officers would be needed by 2026, based on projections for growth in shipping trade, and said there was a current shortfall of some 26,240 certified officers, indicating that demand for seafarers had outpaced supply in 2021.”[20] ICS Secretary General Guy Platten states that the shipping industry doesn’t have enough workers and “Without urgent action from governments the supply of seafarers will run dry.”[21]
BIMCO’s Seafarer Workforce Report is an important tool in developing crewing and training strategies and delivering economic intelligence for the shipping industry to assist in planning for future endeavors. The 2021 version of the report states a shortage of officers “…with technical experience especially at Management Level, and in the tanker and offshore sectors there is a reported shortage of Management Level Deck Officers.”[22] Fortunately, officer turnover rates have been reduced from 8% to 6% over the last five years and the industry has been able to retain their current roster of qualified officers and increase the number of years that they serve at sea. BIMCO Secretary General & CEO David Loosley states that “The Seafarer Workforce Report is not only a useful tool but also a necessary one when it comes to planning for the future and assuring that the backbone of world trade is sufficient in numbers and skills.”[23]
Conclusion
As the world continues to struggle with the Covid-19 pandemic, the sailors that transport the goods that makes modern society function are dealing with harsh circumstances. With Asian nations struggling to control the spread of the Delta strain of Covid, major maritime powers need to do more to safeguard the health of mariners, ensure sufficient vaccinations and prevent future crew abandonment outbreaks that followed the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020. Shipowners also need to do more to adhere to local and international protocols that respect the human rights of mariners.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Saul, Jonathan, Khasawneh, Roslan, Shattered Seafarers Threaten A Global Logistics Shutdown, gCaptain, published 20 July, 2021, gCaptain.com, https://gcaptain.com/stranded-seafarers-covid-logistics-shutdown/, Accessed 21 July, 2021
[2] Ibid
[3] Ibid
[4] Ibid
[5] Ibid
[6] Ibid
[7] Ha, K Oanh, Koh, Ann, Jiao, Claire, Slow Vaccines for Seafarers Threaten to Worsen Shipping Chaos, Bloomburg Businessweek, Published 12 July, 2021, bloomburg.com, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-12/shipping-chaos-not-going-away-with-most-seafarers-unvaccinated, Accessed 27 July 2021
[8] Ibid
[9] Ibid
[10] Ibid
[11] Ibid
[12] Ibid
[13] Ibid
[14] Ibid
[15] Barrett, Tomas, DNV backs crew change programme in South East Asia, DNV Maritime, Published 28 July 2021, dnv.com, https://www.dnv.com/news/dnv-backs-crew-change-programme-in-south-east-asia-204544, Accessed 30 July 2021
[16] Ibid
[17] Ibid
[18]Ha, K Oanh, Koh, Ann, Jiao, Claire, Slow Vaccines for Seafarers Threaten to Worsen Shipping Chaos, Bloomburg Businessweek, Published 12 July, 2021, bloomburg.com, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-12/shipping-chaos-not-going-away-with-most-seafarers-unvaccinated, Accessed 27 July 2021
[19] Saul, Jonathan, The Pool Of Ship Officers Is Running Dry, GCaptain, Published 28 July 2021, gcaptain.com, https://gcaptain.com/the-pool-of-ship-officers-is-running-dry/?subscriber=true&goal=0_f50174ef03-8fd43aa2f1-169966254&mc_cid=8fd43aa2f1&mc_eid=f4fd64d0a0, Accessed 28 July 2021
[20] Ibid
[21] Ibid
[22] NEW BIMCO/ICS SEAFARER WORKFORCE REPORT WARNS OF SERIOUS POTENTIAL OFFICER SHORTAGE, bimco.org, https://www.bimco.org/news/priority-news/20210728—bimco-ics-seafarer-workforce-report, Accessed 30 July 2021
[23] Ibid