UN Secretary-General urged governments to give an opportunity to sea the crews to return home
KIEV. On 13 June. UNN. Hundreds of thousands of sailors are still unable to leave their ships due to measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. UN Secretary-General, antónio Guterres, called on the government to immediately turn the sailors into the category of “key employees” and to take all possible measures to simplify the procedure of changing crews. It is reported by UNN with reference to the press service of the UN.
“The Secretary-General concerned about the growing humanitarian problems and challenges in security faced by sailors around the world. As a result of travel restrictions associated with COVID-19, hundreds of thousands of the two million seafarers of the world are at sea for the past several months,” – said in a statement on behalf of the head of the UN made its spokesman.
It is reported that some workers in the shipping industry have not seen sushi and their families for almost 15 months and so long term of stay on the vessels is prohibited by international conventions. However, employers don’t want to change crews, including seeking to avoid a two-week quarantine for new shifts.
“Many of those on Board had to complete its work more than four months ago, but the pandemic COVID-19 their contracts were continued. Many have problems with mental health. Some suffer from physical fatigue. All this has a bad effect on their ability to comply with security measures during the execution of their duties,” reads the UN statement.
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More than a month ago, the international labour organization made a statement about the plight of the seafarers, who were forbidden to leave the ship. However, reportedly, since then almost nothing has changed and the situation continues to deteriorate with each passing day.
“Shipping accounts for more than 80% of world trade. The ships are carrying commodities, including food and other basic commodities which are crucial to combat COVID-19 and recovery after the pandemic. This ongoing crisis will have direct implications for the shipping industry. The world could not function without the work of seafarers, but their contribution is not well known. They deserve far more support in normal times and especially now,” stressed the UN chief.
We add that the international labour organization and the international Maritime organization together with the International chamber of shipping and the International transport workers ‘ Federation developed protocols for crew rotation during a pandemic.
The Secretary General called on all governments urgently to take them on Board and to enable seafarers on ships, to return, to repatriate, and how to change them – to come to court.
Earlier UNN wrote that in the world hold more than 370 Ukrainian sailors.