Carl Schou has become the latest top shipmanager boss to call on global governments to resolve the mounting crisis of stranded crews.
The Wilhelmsen Ship Management chief executive said that with the recent crew changeover deferrals, the industry had “bought ourselves a time window — for now”.
“We should not have to ask the crew for another deferral. This is unacceptable,” he said in a post on social media.
“Much has been said by the ITF [International Transport Workers' Federation], ICS [International Chamber of Shipping] and IMO. But we are running out of time. The authorities must make travel ban exemptions for seafarers.”
Schou said that with airfreight capacity diminishing, ships were the “last reliable solution”.
“Shipping cannot stop due to Covid-19," he said. "We need a unified approach.”
When he personally emailed the shipmanager’s crews to say it was deferring crew changes, he said he did so with a “heavy heart”.
“I know this is something huge to ask for, especially in these times when families are separated," he said. "Most of them are like me: a father, a husband and a son.
He added that he was “touched by the replies from the crew”, that they stand in solidarity to keep the global trade going.
“This is not something I take for granted," he said. "For that, I would again like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the fantastic people who are so committed.”
Last week, shipmanager Synergy Group warned of a “time bomb” in crewing during the coronavirus pandemic and called for collective crew changes at main trading hubs.
Synergy chief executive Rajesh Unni said a potential solution is for owners and managers to "work with other stakeholders" to change crews at select key ports in standardised procedures.
According to the ICS, about 100,000 seafarers reach the end of their employment contracts in any given month and need to be repatriated.
