How we safeguard our crew and secure supply lines in times of crisis
Image: Combination Carrier MV Baru
While the COVID-19 virus is affecting every part of the world, all societies and industries the shipping industry continues to secure supply lines so people can get food, energy, medicine and other essentials. We are taking extensive preventive measures on our fleet to protect our crew and employees from getting infected, whilst simultaneously ensuring that our business remains fully operational.
G20 and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) are working to ensure that ports and seaways are kept open. Flag and class are extending grace periods for certificates and maximum allowable working days onboard. This is important, as it is currently more or less impossible to make crew changes and yard capacity is limited with parts of the world temporarily shut down. But even more importantly, by not changing crew and postponing scheduled docking of the vessels, we are protecting our people on board by minimizing risks of contagion from shore.
Precautionary measures taken
Daily life for our seafarers has changed a lot since the outbreak of the corona virus. A greater focus on hygiene and social distancing also applies to sailing crew. Stricter cleaning routines have been implemented on board, and shore leave for crew has been cancelled. Onboard visits are allowed only on a strictly needed basis. If visitors need to board the vessels their temperatures are checked and they need to sanitize their hands on the gangway, they are obliged to wear face masks throughout their visit onboard and their movements onboard are restricted to a minimum.
Doing whatever it takes
The precautionary measures are evaluated and reassessed daily, and if necessary, will be expanded and supplemented. Our most important task going forward is to keep the virus off our vessels to protect the health and safety of our crew. Thereby we also keep our vessels sailing, maintain an uninterrupted service to our customers and safeguard supply lines.