Charterers urged to play their part in getting seafarers home: There is little appetite on the charterers’ part to share in the problems that the industry is facing

Charterers urged to play their part in getting seafarers home
July 23, 20202 https://splash247.com/charterers-urged-to-play-their-part-in-getting-sea...
July 24 2020

Charterers are urged today to play their part in ensuring crew get home. The latest episode of the Maritime CEO Seafarer Leader Series powered by Ocean Technologies Group features Jacqueline Smith, the maritime coordinator at the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and Francesco Gargiulo, the CEO of the International Maritime Employers’ Council (IMEC) – the two having worked closely in recent months trying to alleviate the crew change crisis, issuing many joint statements warning of the risks of seafarers working too long at sea.

Both Smith and Gargiulo said in the Wallem Group-sponsored episode that charterers had so far been largely missing from the crew repatriation solution and they could have a very important financial part to play in solving the puzzle.

Smith said she would like to see charterers held more responsible for the welfare of crew.

Shipping organisation BIMCO has developed a deviation clause, which seeks to share some of the financial burden of getting crew repatriated during the coronavirus pandemic.

“The sad news is there’s been very little uptake of that clause because there is little appetite on the charterers’ part to share in the problems that the industry is facing,” said IMEC’s Gargiulo.

Smith and Gargiulo then went on to highlight what seafarer regulation changes they would like to see in the post-coronavirus era.

Next week the Wallem-sponsored series features the views of seafarers from across the globe.