Over the next month, more than 45,000 seafarers from cruise ships alone will be repatriated

Global heroes
Roberto R. Romulo 24 April 2020 https://www.philstar.com/business/2020/04/24/2009322/global-heroes

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Seafarers

Ninety percent of global trade is carried on ships. Filipino seafarers account for 25 percent of the global seafarers. They sent home close to $7 billion in 2019, representing approximately 23 percent of total estimated remittances to the Philippines.

This sector is made up of some one million Filipinos. They rotate in and out of the country in the course of a year, with some 400,000 out across the seas at any one time. A seafarer is at sea between six and ten months of the year before returning home. This career is well regulated globally under internationally agreed rules by the International Maritime Organization. There is a growing call worldwide for seafarers to be recognized as “essential workers”, crucial for society to continue running smoothly, and be accorded facilitated travel to and from their places of employment, while still enforcing COVID-19 containment.

Although crews may still need to undergo a period of quarantine in relation to their travel to and from a vessel, a certification that they have complied with the quarantine requirements from their last port of call should be counted as fulfillment of the quarantine requirements. I understand that IATF has agreed to this arrangement provided the seafarer is subject to rapid assay testing upon arrival – which looks for the coronavirus antibodies rather than the virus itself – with the results obtained within hours rather than days. A protocol should be developed, common to all countries that will serve to facilitate the movement of seafarers. As the seafaring capital of the world, the Philippines should engage in such global discussions.

To illustrate the magnitude of the problem, I just learned that one American cruise line now has two cruise ships in port and expects to have 10,000 crew members here in the next two to three weeks. Over the next month, more than 45,000 seafarers from cruise ships alone will be repatriated.

When we consider seafarers on cargo ships that continue to operate worldwide, that number coming home and those taking their place on board, doubles. Those are awesome numbers to handle. For those without a certificate of health, they will be subject to the 14-day quarantine. That means the returning seafarers need suitable accommodations where quarantine and testing will be administered. I am told, in fact, that practically all bed spaces are booked in Metro Manila.

The plight of the seafarers deserves the support of all, they are the backbone of the global maritime industry: in their own way, they are the frontliners for all of us, providing the medicines, and other products we consume. Picture huge oil tankers that bring the crude oil needed for the country. There are usually 10 to 20 Filipinos onboard from cook to Captain (yes Captain too). Clearly that is the value added this country delivers to the world.