A Supporting System for Relieving COVID-19 Crew Change Crisis

Abstract

Since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, a large number of international seafarers have been stranded aboard ships. Some seafarers have been banned from coming ashore even for over 18 months. Crew change crisis is a time bomb for marine trade because seafarers play an important role in ensuring the safety of ship navigation and maintaining the smooth flow of global supply chain. The purpose of this study is to analyze the reasons of crew change crisis and legal framework of seafarers’ right to stop working and leave the ships they serve, and to provide a supporting system for relieving COVID-19 international seafarers change crisis. Situation analysis, which is a widely held method in health policy research to understand the present condition, contributes to finding out the reasons for crew change crisis. Statistical analysis is used to demonstrate the obstacles encountered in public health governance on crew change. Information is collected from official websites of governments and international organizations. The study provides three solutions for relieving COVID-19 crew change crisis based on China’s successful experience. The first is to implement refined management including monitoring of the pandemic, crew transportation, tracking and preventing mechanism. The second is to construct public-private collaboration mechanism and provide policy support on helping shipping companies reduce cost, which contributes to shipping companies to relieve their economic pressure on seafarers shift arrangement. The third is to construct international cooperation mechanism for crew changes.