MANNING SECTOR GETS BEARING ON CREW CHANGE
AFTER an almost three-month of slump in crew rotation, the Philippine manning sector is slowly getting its bearings as the government loosened up restrictions and eased deployment processes.
This was after repeated appeals made by international organizations to seafarer- deploying countries to help keep shipping and supply chains open and grant special travel exemptions to seafarers in response to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
It was reported earlier that multiple cases of suicides onboard ships have been recorded for the duration of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic due to the crew’s depression and desperation to get back home. With lockdowns implemented on numerous ports and countries, however, seafarers have been forced to extend contracts at sea for an uncertain period of time.
This has led the International Federation of Shipmasters’ Association (IFSMA) to appeal to governments to adopt a framework of protocols to ensure safe crew changes and travel during the Covid-19 pandemic. They are pushing for the immediate enforcement of this as seafarers onboard ships are now “dangerously tired.”
“Governments must act now in order to avoid personal injury to, and mental breakdown of, seafarers and avoid the significant risk of accidents and consequential danger to life and the environment,” IFSMA said in its website.
Based on the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Resolution No. 36 published last May 13, 2020, overseas filipino workers (OFWs), whether land-based or sea-based, will already be allowed for deployment abroad upon the execution of a declaration signifying their knowledge and understanding of the risks involved as advised by the Philippine government.
For this purpose, recruitment and placement agencies shall be likewise, allowed to operate in areas under general and modified enhanced community quarantine subject to the observance of minimum health standards.
Furthermore, government offices and agencies involved in the processing of their deployment are directed to establish “Green Lanes” to enable their prompt processing and deployment.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said Filipino seafarers will not be hampered from embarking and disembarking from their vessels during ship crew changes. “We need to set all the procedures in place to guarantee the safety of our Filipino mariners, especially during crucial moments as ship crew changes, when they are vulnerable to the coronavirus. We must give them every bit of protection and assistance as any other front liner in the global fight against COVID-19,” he said.
Meanwhile, Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) Administrator Vice Admiral Robert Empedrad recognized the indispensable role of the shipping industry, especially in this time of the pandemic, transporting basic necessities such as grain, coal, oil and medical supplies.
“Around 100,000 such ships carry almost 95 percent of the world trade. These ships are operated by close to 1.5 million seafarers; 378,000 of which are Filipinos. Like doctors and nurses, seafarers have continued to work day and night while combatting fear, anxiety and great risk to their own health to keep the world trade afloat,” Empedrad added.
Marina assured that the procedures on crew changes and on the repatriation of seafarers are being done in compliance with the existing safety and health protocols set by the Department of Health (DOH), and the quarantine protocols being enforced by the Bureau of Quarantine (BoQ) and the DoTr.
This includes the eased-up deployment of seafarers as they, along with recruitment and placement agencies’ staffs are allowed unhampered transit to and from appropriate government offices for the processing of their requirements.
On top of their regular pre- deployment processing tasks, manning agencies in Manila have now extended their services to seafarers.
According to lawyer Iris Baguilat, president of Doehle-Seafront Crewing Manila, they now conduct close coordination with port agents as to the restrictions and crew-change policies at the said port in lieu of Covid-19 limitations. The company also conducts the thorough screening of flights at all transit points and constant communication with their crew to assess their readiness, a process that is managed online.
Furthermore, it assists in the transportation of its seafarers, who are without personal vehicles while Covid-19 tests for mariners are completed smoothly in partnership with a hospital that offers online monitoring and downloadable copies of the results.
But as with many manning agencies, Doehle-Seafront faces problems regarding seafarers’ mobility, especially those who are coming from the Visayas and Mindanao – regions where a majority of seafarers come from.
“Transporting seafarers from these regions is harder than sending them off abroad. For example, our crew coming from Butuan needs to secure health declaration from the health officer, health clearance from the rural health unit, barangay (village) certificate of residency, and travel pass from the municipal mayor’s office.
“It is a challenge that we are currently working on,” Baguilat says, adding that such a dilemma leaves them to deploy seafarers who are just within driving-range of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
“That is still not good because [a] majority of our crew are in the provinces ( Visayas and Mindanao), and we need them onboard,” she said.
With the shifting from enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to general community quarantine (GCQ) in Metro Manila on June 1, commercial flights are already expected to resume operations; thus, allowing seafarers from provinces to travel to Manila.