The COVID-19 pandemic has constrained shipping operations during both 2020 and 2021, as the initial reduction in volume during early 2020 was more than eclipsed by increased demand in the second half of the year and through 2021.
Hundreds of vessels are stuck at anchor awaiting access to ports around the globe. In assessing the problem, fingers are pointed at terminal operators, longshoremen’s unions, truck drivers, and others involved in the supply chain that moves goods from factories in China to the shelves of the local Walmart.
But the people who have suffered most from these unprecedented shipping delays are the seafarers. Delays in ships reaching port often result in extended contracts and minimal to no opportunities for shore leave, both of which strain seafarers’ mental health.
Looking to 2022 and beyond, the industry needs to acknowledge, first and foremost, that seafarers are key workers. And yet, while the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has called for countries to grant seafarers key worker status, only 60 of the 174 IMO members states have done so to date. This status is essential to seafarer well-being as they work to keep commerce moving and the world economy working.
Second, nations need to prioritize vaccinating their seafarers against COVID-19. While the United States and some European countries have done an excellent job of vaccinating international seafarers regardless of nationality, those seafarers may require annual boosters to remain healthy and protected.
In the immediate future, the success of international shipping depends upon a healthy, well-trained, and committed workforce of men and women to crew the vessels that allow trade to flow smoothly. In the past year, the Seamen’s Church Institute, along with other seafarer welfare organizations, has partnered with port authorities, agents, and ship owners to get seafarers vaccinated and to encourage shore leave while in port to improve both the physical and mental wellbeing of this essential workforce.