Chinese authorities have started to loosen restrictions on crew changes in China, having estimated that 10,000 Chinese nationals working at sea will be legally required to finish their shifts by end-May.
China was the first major seafaring nation to prohibit seafarers from coming ashore to contain the spread of coronavirus, creating huge operational difficulties for shipping companies to manage crew rotations.
With the ban already in place for two months, China’s Ministry of Transport said many Chinese seafarers will need to be released from their duties in the immediate future.
Time off needed
“By the end of May, about 10,000 seafarers need to have some time off as their employment contracts expire,” the ministry said in a web statement.
While the number of new Covid-19 patients has trended downwards in recent weeks in China, the ministry stressed it remains essential to limit imported cases of infection.
As part of the control measures, Chinese seafarers with port calls in last two weeks are allowed to enter China but need to be quarantined until the end of the 14-day period.
On the other hand, Chinese seafarers whose previous calls are more than 14 days away do not need be quarantined. They will still be subject to local travel restrictions, if any.
In principle, foreign seafarers who had been travelling to the countries worst hit by the Covid-19 outbreak in the past two weeks are still not allowed to enter Chinese ports, according to the ministry.
The Chinese government did not release new rules for foreign seafarers under other conditions. In practice, local port authorities often make discretionary decisions on whether seafarers are allowed to come ashore or not.
The latest development is expected to offer some relief to shipmanagement firms, some of which have had to hire more non-Chinese seafarers and secure approvals from flag states to extend crew shifts.
Their predicament has been exacerbated by lockdowns in India and the Philippines, another two major suppliers of seafarers.
Wuhan reopens
Separately, local authorities announced water transport to and from Wuhan is resuming normal after a two-month ban.
From Wednesday, all cargo carriers from foreign and other Chinese ports have been allowed to load and discharge in the central Chinese port city, where the Covid-19 was first reported in end-2019.
Passengerships can also operate normally except for outbound business.
Wuhan has more than 50,000 people infected with Covid-19 as of Wednesday, of which 44,000 have recovered.
