New Neptune Declaration Crew Change Indicator takes the temperature of the crew change crisis
Data from top 10 ship managers on their seafarers is the basis of an indicator which provides up-to-date information on the impact of the crew change crisis and will allow for the monitoring of developments over time. The Neptune Declaration Crew Change Indicator is part of the ongoing efforts that a multi-stakeholder taskforce is undertaking to resolve the situation.
Well into the second year of the coronavirus pandemic, the crew change crisis remains unresolved. Despite the concerted efforts by international organizations and companies, seafarers are still unable to disembark from vessels while new strains of Covid-19 create a risk of making the situation worse. Currently, data that gives access to the number of seafarers who are impacted by the crew change crisis is limited. The new Neptune Declaration Crew Change Indicator aims to inform the situation.
Phtoto: Anglo Eastern
Bjorn Hoojgaard The global crew change crisis resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic is far from over and is set to be even worse this year according to top ship managers.
The new Neptune Declaration Crew Change Indicator surveying 10 leading ship managers presents what on the face of it a situation that looks to be far improved over last year, however, as border restrictions are reinstated with the Covid crisis in India and the spread of new variants senior executives say the picture is bleak.
The first Indicator shows that by mid-April 2021, 5.8% of seafarers were onboard vessels beyond the expiry of their contracts of employment, and 0.4% of seafarers had been onboard vessels for over 11 months, the maximum period allowed under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC).
By Salma El Wardany (Bloomberg)
An Egyptian court upheld a ruling preventing the giant container ship that blocked the Suez Canal from leaving the country, after authorities sought more than $900 million in compensation from the owners.
The decision was announced Tuesday by a court in the canal-side city of Ismailia, following a legal appeal. The 400-meter-long Ever Given is owned by Japan’s Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd. and was being chartered by Taiwan’s Evergreen Line when it got stuck in the southern end of the canal for six days in March.
Another hearing was set for May 22.
The vessel, traveling from China to Rotterdam, was freed after a frantic operation involving powerful tug boats and diggers. It sailed to the Great Bitter Lake, about half way along the canal, and has been kept there since. The 25 Indian crew members were all still on board as of late April, according to a statement from the manager of the ship, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement.