Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia announced over the weekend that they would be tightening their immigration policies in moves that will make it harder to conduct crew changes in their ports.

Officials in all three jurisdictions said enhancing crew-change safety measures would further reduce the risk of importing Covid-19 cases.

Hong Kong’s tightening of crew changeovers comes as the special administrative region struggles with a resurgence of the coronavirus.

From 29 July, authorities there will not allow vessels to call at its port expressly to conduct a crew change. However, ships carrying out cargo operations will not be affected.

An official from the Hong Kong Marine Department claimed that the measures were the government’s response to a recent spike in Covid-19 cases.

“This crew change restriction will be reviewed after a few weeks at least,” the official said.

Hong Kong saw more than 1,000 new infections over the last four weeks, bringing its total tally of coronavirus infections to more than 2,700 since February.

Some health experts blamed the authorities for allowing unrestricted crew changes and quarantine exemptions.

About 40 crew members were reported to have tested positive for Covid-19 over the past two months.

Hong Kong is a popular transit point for ships to change crews. It serves as the headquarters for several shipmanagement companies including Anglo-Eastern, Fleet Management and Wallem Group.

“The Hong Kong government has been very supportive of safe and efficient crew changes in the city," Fleet Management said in an email to TradeWinds. "Considering the sharp surge of local virus cases, we support their directive and will comply accordingly."

Quarantine restrictions

Malaysia will require arriving seafarers to undergo a 14-day quarantine on arrival before they can join their ship. Photo: Contributed

Malaysia, meanwhile, has implemented tight quarantine requirements for crew members arriving in the country to join ships.

The move came as part of a broader revamp of entry procedures put in place with immediate effect on Friday evening by the country’s Department of Immigration.

Seafarers entering Malaysia to join ships are now required to undergo a 14-day quarantine period in dedicated facilities at the point of entry, before being allowed to transfer to the port.

They will have to undergo a Covid-19 swab test upon arrival.

Disembarking crew will also have to undergo a Covid-19 test and remain in isolation until the result has been determined.

Malaysia-based ship agency companies lashed out against the sudden move, claiming that the authorities failed to discuss the matter with industry stakeholders beforehand to understand the implications on vessels already in port, and crew already en route to join ships.

Permission previously granted by port immigration officers to shipping agents allowing them to clear crew arriving at the country’s airports for transit directly to their vessel was immediately invalidated.

“There has been an influx of messages from all the shipping agencies to the marine and immigration departments asking for clarification on why this order has come on a Friday evening, giving no one time to prepare,” a ship agency source complained in an email sent to TradeWinds on Saturday.

“Regrettably, nobody in the government is contactable to attend to any inquiry until the weekend is over.”

Malaysian marine department personnel referred TradeWinds to a circular posted on the organisation’s website.

Prioritising applications

Singapore is working on detailed guidelines for its 'safe corridor' procedures. Photo: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said on Friday that it was working with the industry taskforce to provide more detailed guidelines on the ‘safe-corridor’ procedures to safeguard the crew-change process.

Items under review include existing procedures covering the need for seafarers to self-isolate for 14 days prior to travelling to Singapore, ensuring accurate Covid-19 testing, and direct transfers between airport and ship.

Singapore reported three cases involving joining seafarers testing positive upon arrival within one week.

The MPA cautioned that if a crew member tested positive in Singapore, crew changes would be suspended for a “stipulated period” to allow the company sufficient time to review its internal processes to ensure strict adherence to the ‘safe-corridor’ crew-change procedures.

It said that with immediate effect, it would "give priority to applications from Singapore registered ships and applications for sign-off crew only".

For all other cases, it would take into consideration whether the crew member had served their maximum time on board and no further extension was granted by the flag state.

Requests submitted on compassionate or medical grounds would also be considered.