The challenges facing seafarers that have dominated the
headlines for the past 18 months are continuing to stabilize and show slight
signs of improvement according to the latest monthly update on the Neptune
Declaration Crew Change Indicator. The data compiled from the largest ship
managers shows a positive trend for the issues of crew change while vaccination
rates among seafarers appear to be accelerating according to the Global
Maritime Forum which reports the monthly indicator results.
The latest report shows that the number of seafarers onboard
vessels beyond the expiry of their contract has decreased from 8.9 to 7.9
percent in the last month. Similarly, the number of seafarers onboard vessels
for over 11 months has slightly decreased from 1.2 to 1.0 percent. These
statistics continue the trend that began to appear in the summer months as the
numbers stopped increasing as more seafarers were able to complete crew changes
on schedule.
The October Indicator also shows encouraging numbers on
seafarers receiving vaccinations for COVID-19. The percentage from the past
month is up from 21.9 to 31.1 percent of seafarers reporting they have received
vaccination for the virus. The percent increase increased from the numbers the
prior month, suggesting that seafarers are gaining increasing access to
vaccines. These numbers are still lagging behind the rates of many large
ship-owning nations, the European Union, or the U.S. but illustrate a positive
trend.
“It is encouraging to see the vaccination rate for seafarers
going up and the number of seafarers onboard their vessels beyond the expiry of
contracts is decreasing slightly,” says Kasper Søgaard, Managing Director, Head
of Institutional Strategy and Development, Global Maritime Forum. “However,
lockdowns, flight cancellations, and travel restrictions persist, thus posing
continued challenges to crew changes globally.”
Ship managers submitting input from the monthly updates
continue to report travel bans and restrictions for certain geographies,
challenging crew supply from those countries. Issues were also cited with the
approval of specific vaccines and of vaccines where both doses were received in
different locations.
A shortage of crew was also first reported last month and
this arose again as a difficulty that the ship managers are facing. Due to
continued lockdowns, seafarer academies have been closed or operating remotely,
which has delayed the training of seafarers, and lockdowns and travel bans have
also impacted crew supply.
While the global shipping organizations continue to warn of
the challenges to maintaining ship operations as the pandemic stretches on,
they are also encouraged by the positive steps. For example, the Singapore
Shipping Association, in collaboration with PSA and the Fullerton Health Group,
has set up a seafarers’ vaccination (SEAVAX) center in Singapore. The effort
expands on a trial program and has received financial support from numerous
organizations. The center, which began operations yesterday, September 30, will
administer vaccines to seafarers, starting with signing-on crew arriving in
Singapore. Other efforts in Europe, North America, and Asia also continue to
provide COVID-19 vaccinations for crew members when their ships arrive in port.