Hong Kong have made an unprecedented move to allow crew changes in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic.
The 7th busiest port in the world now allows crew changes without any conditions aside from the normal travel documents like the pre-COVID-19 era. This means that there will be no quarantine or any special permits needed to conduct crew change in Hong Kong.
Very little action taken by some governments to allow the safe facilitation of crew change around the world’s ports. But not Hong Kong. With a new rules drafted on June 8th, they are allowing seamless crew change as long as the vessel is berthed in their ports.
Direct Vessel to Airport arrangement
Crew members who completed their contracts onboard are required to stay in the vessel during their stay in Hong Kong and travel directly to the airport heading for their home countries. This is to minimize contact with anyone aside from the people who are directly involved in this operation.
On signing crew members should only arrive in Hong Kong once their vessel is at berth. Thus, they can come onboard direct from the airport to the vessel. If there is an absolute need for them to stay in Hong Kong while awaiting to board, shipping companies and agents should arrange an accommodation for them to self-isolate until their vessel arrive at berth.
June 15 Deadline
ITF and JNG’s statement regarding the June 15 deadline is getting near. Only Hong Kong made such a bold move following Singapore’s restricted crew change availability.
Around 200,000 seafarers are in dire need of crew change now with some serving almost a year to a year without anything in sight. This is due to the COVID-19 pandemic where most of the world’s borders were closed.
Few months later, there have been only a handful of countries made the effort to allow crew changes as encouraged by the IMO in the Circular No. 4204.