01 Jul, 2020
More countries designate Marine crew as key workers
As the COVID-19 crisis continues to grow, more people are recognising how big an impact it has had on marine crew, with some marooned at sea for more than a year.
As a result both the United Nations and the IMO have launched appeals for governments to recognise marine crew as key workers, making it easier for crew changeovers to happen and for the stranded ones to be flown home.
The latest update we have from the IMO from the middle of June is that the following countries have acknowledged marine crew as key workers:
Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Hong Kong (China), Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Liberia, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
The IMO also states that there are more countries that recognise marine crew as key workers but they have not officially notified the IMO.