Global Supply Chains Face New Risks... "Crew Supply Disrupted by Border Controls"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Due to the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures, which have stranded seafarers of shipping companies, concerns have been raised that the global supply chain is facing a different kind of risk. Although there is cargo and ships, there are no seafarers available to transport them. As crew changes have not been carried out, the shortage of replacement personnel has increased the threat to the maritime logistics system.

According to foreign media on the 7th (local time), a German cargo ship refused to operate due to the lack of replacement crew. Although seafarers' fatigue has accumulated, restrictions on personnel movement caused by COVID-19 have forced logistics transport to continue with existing crew without replacements, but now it has reached its limit.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), shipping accounts for 80% of global export cargo volume. If sea routes are blocked, severe disruptions to the global logistics transport network are inevitable.

In particular, the emergency measure temporarily extending seafarers' maritime work contracts will end on the 16th. Since many seafarers are already working beyond their contract periods, there are industry concerns that more ships may declare transport impossible due to the absence of replacement personnel. Safety concerns are also growing.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The reason seafarers cannot secure replacement personnel is that personnel movement is not proceeding as smoothly as before. Seafarers whose contracts have ended need to cross borders to return home or for newly contracted seafarers to board ships, but movement itself is difficult due to COVID-19. Especially with flights being canceled, seafarers' movement is extremely restricted. For this reason, about 20% of the 1.8 million seafarers on 96,000 merchant ships worldwide are stranded.

Under maritime regulations, seafarers are generally allowed to stay at sea for up to 11 months, but due to the current special circumstances, some seafarers have been at sea for up to 15 months.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has introduced 12 standard procedures for crew changes to resolve the seafarer supply issue. However, governments of various countries have not responded promptly. For this reason, the shipping industry is demanding the introduction of safe corridors for seafarers. Seafarers traveling for disembarkation or embarkation should be designated as essential workers and given benefits such as access to aircraft.

Guy Platten, Secretary-General of the International Chamber of Shipping, said, "A time bomb is ticking," adding, "Seafarers cannot be made to work endlessly. There are already cases of seafarers staying on board for over a year, and this issue will become a major risk to the entire global transport network as time goes on."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.