“Coronavirus strands merchant ship crews at sea for months”, 4 June 2020

Countries across the world have imposed lockdowns, shut borders and suspended international flights to curb the spread of [COVID-19]…, but merchant ship crews have become…stranded at sea in need of crew changes [or]…stuck on shore, waiting to get back to work.

“You can’t expect people to move [personal protective equipment], drugs and all the issues that we need to respond to [COVID-19], and keep cities and countries that are in lockdown fed, if you don’t move cargo on ships,” said Steve Cotton, General Secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation, or ITF. “They’ve got to recognize the sacrifice seafarers are making for our global society.”

David Hammond, founder of the Human Rights at Sea organization, said many seafarers “have really been at the end of their tether” due to contract extensions. “The reality is that until there is global cooperation among states and shipping entities …. then crew change is going to be very problematic.”