Singapore saw a flurry of crew changes over the weekend, helping to clear a personnel logjam caused by the coronavirus crisis.

The moves came after tests of a “safe corridor” that allows the process to be carried out in a manner that minimises potential health risk to both the local population and the maritime community.

Sunday saw a total of 98 crew members arrive at the city-state’s Changi Airport ahead of joining up with commercial vessels.

They arrived from Mumbai, Manila, Jakarta, Amsterdam and London on a chartered flight and six scheduled commercial flights.

Following entry formalities, they were linked up with their agents, and moved off to 19 different vessels, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said on Monday.

A corresponding number of disembarking crew repeated the process in reverse.

The first test of Singapore's new Covid-19 virus protocols for crew changes was carried out by New York-based Genco Shipping & Trading earlier in June.

The new protocols, developed by an industry task force led by the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) in partnership with the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union, are detailed in the recently published Singapore Crew Change Guidebook.

Michael Phoon, SSA’s executive director, said the process of developing the guidelines was challenging as protocols had to take into consideration both regulatory requirements and the practical demands of the shipping industry.

“We are very pleased that the established procedures, which provides clarity to the shipping industry on crew change, have been accepted by the MPA and the industry,” he said.

Poon added that he hoped Singapore’s protocols could serve as a model for the international maritime industry.

While Singapore has allowed limited crew changes on medical grounds and for compassionate reasons since March, this has now been extended to include seafarer contracts which cannot be further extended.

MPA chief executive Quah Lay Hoon said this was in response to a global need for large numbers of crew changes to take place.

“As a major port state, Singapore has a responsibility to facilitate crew change in a safe manner for both the country and the ships, given the ongoing pandemic,” she said.

Quah also recognised that shipping companies face immense challenges operating during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“MPA will continue to work with the industry and unions on creative solutions, one of which is a floating holding facility for crew; we are finalising the details," she said. "We are also heartened to receive kind notes of appreciation from seafarers and companies whose crew we have made a difference.”

The MPA reported that it has approved more than 4,000 cases of crew sign-ons and sign-offs for over 300 companies since 27 March. The cases involved approximately 500 ships, including tankers, bulkers, containerships and offshore vessels.

Charter flights

Genco Shipping & Trading crew on a recent charter flight from Singapore. Photo: Contributed

With extremely limited numbers of commercial flights currently operating, charter flights increasingly look to be a necessity for changing crews.

Last Sunday’s charter flight, which brought in 54 seafarers from Mumbai, and returned another 87 to the Indian city, was organised by Singapore-based Executive Ship Management (ESM), which made seats available to other companies needing to transport crews.

Company officials told TradeWinds that they offered space to nine other shipmanagers.

“It is time to unite and share our resources to add value to our shipowners and other stakeholders so that we can find a working solution to the vexed problem of crew change during this challenging time," said BS Teeka, chief executive of the Executive Group of companies, of which ESM is a member.

The shipmanager explained that organising the flight was a daunting challenge that required high levels of cooperation between government ministries and agencies, embassies and industry stakeholders in both countries.

Two more charter fights that will facilitate the changeover of crews are scheduled to touch down in Singapore this week, according to the MPA.

The government agency did not reveal which companies have arranged these flights.

Thousands of seafarers have been trapped on board ships since the start of the coronavirus outbreak. They experiencing increasing levels of mental and physical exhaustion, and many have been stressed to breaking point.

It is therefore highly likely that many more charter flights to Singapore will be arranged in the upcoming weeks.