The humanitarian crisis of seafarers stuck on ships as crew changes are prevented by the coronavirus pandemic is at a critical point, IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said Tuesday at a Capital Link shipping forum in London.
“We are at a critical point now. I implore governments to do more This cannot wait. This is now a real safety issue,” Lim said.
He said hundreds of thousands of seafarers have now been working for months beyond the normal end of their contracts — meaning some have been at sea as long as 15 months.
“We are now facing a crisis in shipping. Hundreds of thousands of seafarers are still waiting to be repatriated after many months at sea having stayed away beyond their original contracts. They are fatigued and weary.”
Lim said he was impressed by the unprecedented co-operation between governments, shipping companies and organisations during the pandemic, but he said it was imperative that the IMO protocols for crew changes were now implemented by governments, so that crews could be repatriated and replaced.
He recognised that some countries had deemed seafarers to be key workers and were helping to get medical help to crews.
IMO is responding to the importance of continuing other vital work, such as toward decarbonisation, via virtual meetings Lim said, but he stressed that more options are needed in the development of new technologies and alternative fuels.
