Euronav is throwing its considerable weight behind a new industry initiative to facilitate crew changeovers as coronavirus restrictions tighten again.

The New York and Euronext-listed Belgian tanker owner has signed the Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change, devised by the Global Maritime Forum (GMF).

The initiative is officially launching during the World Economic Forum’s Davos Agenda Week from 25 January.

A call to arms

The declaration is a global call, focusing on concrete actions that can ease crew changes and keep supply chains functioning.

Euronav said it has been a leading voice in the industry on the subject, with chief executive Hugo De Stoop publicly advocating a solution.

He told GMF's Virtual High-Level Meeting in October that shipping's lack of transparency meant politicians were unwilling to listen to its concerns when the crunch came earlier in 2020.

Euronav has been deviating its ships to accommodate crew changes and has incurred extra costs to get its seafarers home safely.

Overdue crew numbers cut

At the peak in July, Euronav had 630 people overdue for rotation, out of a total ship workforce of more than 3,000.

This number has now been cut to 77.

"The crew change crisis is the largest ever humanitarian and logistical tragedy facing the maritime sector," De Stoop said.

"It is our responsibility and duty towards the seafarers, and their families, to globally address this crisis as one voice."

He said the sector has stayed under the radar too long.

Taskforce in place

"Euronav will continue to work with all relevant authorities to highlight the immediate need to ease such restrictions on seafarers," he pledged.

A GMF taskforce has been formed, chaired by Ocean Network Express chief executive Jeremy Nixon and Graham Westgarth, chairman of V.Group.

The declaration brings together the International Chamber of Shipping, the International Transport Workers' Federation, the International Maritime Employers’ Council and the World Economic Forum.

The idea is to win recognition of seafarers as key workers and give them early access to Covid-19 vaccinations.

The partners also want to see high-quality health protocols introduced, and increased collaboration between ship operators and charterers to facilitate crew changes, while ensuring airline connectivity between key maritime hubs.

Stricter regimes

Several countries have adopted stricter crew change restrictions in the first week of 2021, although none have yet gone as far as the Philippines’ ban on seafarers from 21 nations.

This follows the emergence in recent weeks of new variants of the virus, particularly in South Africa and the UK, which has entered its third lockdown.

Countries tightening restrictions include Japan, China, South Korea, France, Singapore, Russia, Indonesia, Reunion and Mauritius, according to alerts from international port and shipping agency GAC.