The Cyprus Shipping Chamber, as the trade association of the Shipping Industry in
Cyprus, signed the
Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change, together with a number
of its Member-Companies and joined the worldwide call to action to end the
unprecedented crew change crisis caused by Covid-19.
The Cyprus Shipping Community,
once again sent the message that the issue of crew changes, which is still unresolved
in many countries, with thousands of seafarers on board for several months
after the expiration of their employment contracts, without being able to be
replaced by other crew members and be repatriated, needs to be resolved the
soonest.
The signatories of the Neptune Declaration, which are more than 300 shipping
companies and organizations worldwide and growing, recognize that they have a
shared responsibility based on their roles across the entire maritime value
chain, and beyond, to ensure that the crew change crisis is resolved as soon as
possible.
They Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change
defines four main actions to facilitate crew changes and keep global supply
chains functioning:
- Recognize seafarers as key workers and
give them priority access to Covid-19 vaccines
- Establish and implement gold standard
health protocols based on existing best practice
- Increase collaboration between ship
operators and charterers to facilitate crew changes
- Ensure air connectivity between key
maritime hubs for seafarers
The Shipping Chamber and its Members, have remained committed to their
responsibility to take care of their Seafarers and expect that this worldwide plea
will stimulate the prompt response of Governments and Port Authorities to work
together with the global Shipping Industry in order to find acceptable
solutions to this ongoing issue.
