The IMO is again calling for member states to give seafarers "key worker" status that would help facilitate crew changes.
This time, the agency joined the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTD) on Tuesday in issuing a joint statement urging the world to keep ships moving, ports open and trade flowing.
Part of that, the two said, was helping to change over the estimated 300,000 seafarers that will need to be replaced in the coming weeks, with roughly half flying home.
"The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has placed the world in an unprecedented situation. To slow the spread of the disease and mitigate its impacts, travel is being curtailed and borders are being closed," the statement from IMO secretary general Kitack Lim and UNCTD counterpart Mukhisa Kituyi read.
"Maritime transport is dependent on the two million seafarers who operate the world's merchant ships.
"For shipping to continue to operate safely, we are seeking the support of governments to facilitate crew changes and ensure crew well-being, by facilitating the repatriation and safe return home of seafarers, maritime personnel, fishing vessel personnel and offshore energy sector personnel, as well as access to medical care for sick or injured crew and to medical prescriptions."
In early May, the IMO released guidance covering a seafarer's journey from home to the ship and back to be used as an aid for crew members, some of whom have been aboard their ships for eight to 10 months or more.
The plan was developed alongside industry groups and the unions.
It followed that up with a statement that crew changes was the biggest issue facing shipping.
Later that month, the International Chamber of Shipping — which first agitated for key worker status for seafarers in mid-March — issued its own guidance in an effort to quell the fears of authorities.
The chamber's guidance was in response to reports from the International Transport Workers' Foundation that Indonesian authorities repeatedly rejected requests for medical assistance for a crew member that had suffered a stroke aboard the 37,700-dwt WL Palekh (built 2014).
In late May, Singapore released guidelines for crew changes, and Saturday, New York-based bulker owner Genco Shipping & Trading swapped out 19 seafarers aboard the 180,000-dwt Genco Liberty (built 2016).
On 26 May, Anglo-Eastern changed 34 crew members from a ship off India's south-western coast.
