Seafarers working on Dutch-flagged or Dutch-managed tonnage will be eligible for a Covid-19 vaccination under a programme overseen by the country’s shipowners' association.
A total of around 49,000 vaccines will be made available in instalments starting in mid-June, the Royal Association of Dutch Shipowners (KVNR) said.
The KVNR said it had opted for the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine so that one vaccination per seafarer would suffice.
“This is important, because seafarers only spend a limited amount of time in the Netherlands, namely during their leave or to travel home or to a ship,” the KVNR said.
“Because all seafarers are never in the Netherlands within one consecutive period, vaccination will be spread over the coming months.”
The KVNR said the vaccination effort will take place in a number of larger ports and at the country’s major international airport, Schiphol.
The programme has been established in close consultation with the Dutch government, the Association of Hydraulic Engineers, the Shipowners' Association for Sea Fisheries and the Nautilus International trade union.
KVNR director Annet Koster said: “As shipowners, we are grateful that the Dutch government recognises the need to vaccinate seafarers through a tailor-made programme and has given us the confidence to implement this valuable vaccination programme.”
Nautilus International chairman Marcel van den Broek said the union is both happy and grateful after its advocacy for seafarers in the pandemic.
“As an employee representative, we have drawn attention to the specific problems of seafarers and Covid-19,” he said. "The recognition of this makes us happy and grateful."
KVNR said the Netherlands' National Institute for Public Health and the Environment has been exploring to what extent seafarers can make use of the regular national vaccination strategy, or whether a separate approach is necessary, given the special characteristics of the group.
“The outcome of this survey is that seafarers do indeed require a separate approach,” the KVNR said.
The vaccines will be made available free of charge by the minister of health, welfare and sport, while the costs of logistics and the actual vaccination will be paid for by private parties in the maritime sector, according to KVNR.
“The fact that seafarers can be vaccinated, regardless of their nationality, enables shipping companies, among other things, to comply with their duty of care,” the trade association said.
Koster said the risk of having an infected ship is too great not to vaccinate seafarers.
“After all, acute medical care is not immediately available at sea,” she said.
“Thanks to this vaccination programme, the continuity of the service provided by Dutch ships can also be guaranteed.”
Kitack Lim, secretary general of the International Maritime Organization, recently called on all member states to support a fair global distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, beyond fulfilling their national needs, to ensure seafarers can access vaccines.
On Wednesday, TradeWinds reported that some US states are making vaccines available to foreign seafarers at clinics approved by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In a recent social media post, Singapore ship-manager Synergy Marine Group said it had vaccinated the crew of the UK-flagged 81,344-dwt bulker BW Canola (built 2014) during a call at the US port of Norfolk.
