The poignant question of the impact of the pandemic on the attractiveness of seafaring as a career was asked by a member of the audience during the virtual conference session ‘Welfare & Training – People Sustainability’ part of Seatrade Maritime Middle East Virtual.
The impact of pandemic on crew change and the problems encountered by seafarers was explained by Toby Brooks, Deputy Director - Isle of Man Ship Registry.
“We’ve experienced first-hand the crew repatriation crisis, our attempt to review each case and support the needs of our seafarers have in some cases revealed a common truth. I think we’ve noticed in many ports there’s a clear disconnect between the maritime authorities and the border control authorities within the same country,” Brooks explained.