400,000 stranded seafarers, threatens trade and maritime safety

 400,000 stranded seafarers, threatens trade and maritime safety.

Some 400,000 seafarers from across the globe are now stranded on ships, continuing to work but unable to be relieved, in a deepening crew change crisis which threatens trade and maritime safety.

During a high-level event on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (24 September), Captain Hedi Marzougui, who was in command of a vessel between December 2019 and May 2020, appealed to Governments to act to allow seafarers to come home.

“Not knowing when or if we will be returning home brings a severe mental toll on my crew and myself,” Captain Marzougui said. “I would encourage each and every one of you to think of how you would feel, if you had to work every day, for 12 hours, with no weekends, without seeing your loved ones, and trapped at sea. Now add that you have to do that with no idea of when you will be repatriated.”

The COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on travel and transit have severely impacted on seafarers. Despite multiple pleas to Governments to designate them as essential key workers and to facilitate their travel, the number of seafarers whose contracts have been extended by several months has continued to increase. Some seafarers have now been at sea for 17 months without a break, well beyond the 11-month limit set out in the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC). Besides the 400,000 seafarers stuck at sea, another 400,000 are unable to join ships.

This threatens the fundamentals of ship safety standards which the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has worked to develop over six decades, IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim told the online event, which brought together leaders from major global businesses, the maritime industry, government, the UN and unions.

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