Euronav: Crew change crunch is shipping’s ‘largest ever humanitarian and logistical crisis’

Euronav: Crew change crunch is shipping’s ‘largest ever humanitarian and logistical crisis’
Sam Chambers August 6, 2020 https://splash247.com/euronav-crew-change-crunch-is-shippings-largest-ev...

Belgian tanker giant Euronav announced its interim results today, and spent plenty of time discussing the crew change crunch.

In a release, the company described the ongoing seafarer impasse as “the largest ever humanitarian and logistical crisis facing the maritime sector”.

Euronav said the disruption is now affecting the lives and livelihoods of nearly 40% of the world’s estimated 2m crew; including those seafarers that are unemployed and unable to join their ships.

“This issue needs affirmative and positive action at border points in order to ease the backlog of stranded seafarers around the world. Euronav calls upon all governments around the world to recognize all seafarers as ‘key workers’ with immediate effect, and allow them safe and secure access to their destinations,” the company stated.

Hugo De Stoop, Euronav’s CEO, said: “Covid-19 continues to create huge restrictions on the mobility and movement of seafarers. Crew changes are critical for all shipping sectors and movement of goods.”

Euronav mader a stunning $485m net profit in the first half, a significant improvement over the $19m loss recorded in the same period last year.