Europe still open to seafarers
Seafarers around the world can still travel to Europe to join vessels – even from countries facing fresh Covid-19 outbreaks such as India, where daily cases hit more than 300,000 in mid-May.
“Getting seafarers into or out of Europe isn’t a problem at the moment,” said Peter Smit, Co-CEO of Boers Crew Services, the Netherlands-based shipping crew transport services operator for Northern Europe.
“If a seafarer flies from, say, Manila into Amsterdam, we can get them to the port for a crew change. They will, of course, need to be tested for Covid-19 and most likely be quarantined in a hotel. But if the test result comes back negative, it’s no problem for them to join the vessel.”