seafarertimes.com ~ Maritime News for Filipino Seafarers

German Cruise Ship Passengers Stranded in Cape Town Start Returning Home
Reuters March 22, 2020 https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/03/22/world/africa/22reuters-health...

CAPE TOWN — Around 1,240 German passengers stranded in Cape Town after their cruise ship was quarantined for almost a week due to a coronavirus scare had either begun their journey home or would do so in the next day, the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) said on Sunday.

Container ship attacked in Gulf of Guinea UPDATE confirmed MSC ship attacked
Mikhail Voytenko March 22, 2020 http://www.maritimebulletin.net/2020/03/22/container-ship-attacked-in-gu...

UPDATE: Confirmed it’s MSC TALIA F, 7 crew reportedly kidnapped out of total 17, all said to be Ukrainians. The ship resumed sailing at around 1115 UTC, AIS on, as of 1415 UTC she was approaching Libreville.

Seafarers must be exempt from travel bans, say ICS and ITF
Anastassios Adamopoulos 19 Mar 2020 https://lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com/LL1131587/Seafarers-...

A total of 100,000 seafarers have to change over each month.

The Lloyd’s List Podcast: Seafarers are not the problem — they’re part of the solution
20 Mar 2020 https://lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com/LL1131610/The-Lloyds...

Listen to the latest edition of Lloyd’s List’s weekly podcast — your weekly briefing on the stories shaping shipping

Cruise ships kept sailing as coronavirus spread. Travelers and health experts question why.
Beth Reinhard, Rosalind S. Helderman, Faiz Siddiqui, Mark Berman March 20, 2020 https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/coronavirus-cruises-20200320...

It was one of the first outbreaks of coronavirus to capture global attention: For weeks in February, the cruise ship Diamond Princess was moored off the shore of Japan with hundreds of infected people aboard.

Coronavirus pushes back more maritime industry events: Hall of fame induction and trade conference postponed until September
Kim Link-Wills, March 20, 2020 https://www.freightwaves.com/news/coronavirus-pushes-back-more-maritime-...

Two more maritime industry events have been rescheduled because of the coronavirus.

Five stages of crew relief grief
Steven Jones March 19th, 2020 https://splash247.com/five-stages-of-crew-relief-grief/

Steven Jones, founder of the Seafarers Happiness Index, on how those stuck at sea are reacting to the coronavirus.

ICS and ITF call on UN to urgently facilitate crew changes
Jason Jiang March 20th, 2020 https://splash247.com/ics-and-itf-call-on-un-to-urgently-facilitate-crew...

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) have jointly sent an open letter to the United Nations agencies for the global maritime industry calling on them to facilitate crew changes to keep world trading moving throughout the coronavirus crisis.

iCALL Helps Seafarers Deal with Coronavirus Concerns
03-19-2020 https://www.maritime-executive.com/corporate/icall-helps-seafarers-deal-...

A mental health and wellness helpline service set up to support sea and shore-based maritime personnel worldwide is receiving increasing requests for assistance as the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic crisis mounts.

China Shipping Exports Rebound, Just as Western Ports Cope With Coronavirus Downturn
Costas Paris March 19, 2020 https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-shipping-exports-rebound-just-as-west...

Chinese gateways are again moving cargo after a two-month near-standstill, but ports in Europe and the U.S. now are hunkering down