Posted on: 7 May 2020
One of the largest P&I and marine insurance providers Gard has shared the report produced by a COVID-19 task force recently established by the UN Global Compact’s Action Platform for Sustainable Ocean Business, where Gard is a member.
Finding solutions to the critical problem of seafarers trapped on vessels is required now. Creating global “key worker” status for crew is vital to maintaining their health and safety, while at the same time supporting the global supply chain. 90% of the world’s good travel by sea and, at any given time, around 200,000 sailors are in transit for crew changes around the world.
The UN Global Compact has now published a set of recommendations for urgent political action to keep global ocean-related supply chains moving during the COVID-19 pandemic. The recommendations are a consolidation of the work of the COVID-19 Task Force, initiated by the UN Global Compact’s Action Platform for Sustainable Ocean Business, where Gard participates.
With closed borders, quarantine regulations and airlines grounded, moving personnel is very difficult and this impacts badly on their physical and mental well-being. There is an urgent need to quickly find practical solutions and agreements to meet crew changeover and medical needs.
As a member of the COVID-19 Task Force, Gard strongly endorses the recommendations in this report, which can be downloaded here.
