This BIMCO COVID 19 weekly report for the week ending 30 December covers the World Health Organization (WHO), Australia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Philippines, Russia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, updated crew change national focal point contact and the latest from the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Every week, BIMCO summarises measures imposed by governments for sea transport, including for crew change, as well as updates from United Nations bodies such as the IMO, WHO and International Labour Organization (ILO).
On 23 December, WHO issued an updated global technical brief and priority action required for Member states to enhance readiness for Omicron ( B.1.1.529), of which WHO has given an overview. The overall risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron remains very high for a number of reasons (eg significant growth advantage over Delta leading to rapid spread in the community) and also due to the fact that the global risk of COVID-19 remains very high overall. A risk-based approach to adjust international travel measures in a timely manner is recommended and efforts to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination coverage as rapidly as possible should continue. See WHO advice for international traffic in relation to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant for additional information.
Please see BIMCO-WHO for more information.
According to information provided by GAC Hot Port News, Australia has established Safe Travel Zones with the following countries:
Further details on the government's website on Safe Travel Zones.
The State Maritime Agency via an IMO circular letter no. 4223/Add.7 , advised that an extension till 31 March 2022 is granted for the following:
Georgia's Maritime Transport Agency informing the IMO, via an IMO circular letter no. 4232/Add.14, of the following:
According to information provided by GAC Hot Port News and confirmed by the Philippine government, the schedule for travel restrictions has been amended by Resolution 154-B. The Red list of countries now includes as follows:
Validity of Certificates of Competence, as well as the endorsements on recognition of certificates issued by another Government, Certificates of Proficiency, tanker endorsements (oil tankers, liquefied gas tankers, chemical tankers), certificates for ship’s cooks and other STCW documents is extended for three (3) months with no requirement for additional entries or issuance of new documents. This is in accordance with information provided by the Russian Ministry of Transport to the IMO via a circular letter no. 4237/Add.25.
According to information provided (circular N-Gen 025-Rev 12) by the Maritime Administration of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and circulated by the IMO in a circular letter no. 4248/add. 14, the following are the measures in place effective 18 December :
Travel restrictions imposed by Singapore denying entry for long-term pass holders and short-term visitors with recent 14-day travel history to Botswana, Eswatini, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zimbabwe have been lifted and they will now be allowed to enter effective 26 December, 2359 hours and will be subjected to border measures for Category IV countries/regions. As a consequence, PMC no. 44/2021 is removed.
According to GISIS today, the list of countries (48) informing the IMO of their national focal point of contact for crew change and repatriation of seafarers are: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, the Cook Islands, Cyprus, Dominica, Ecuador ( new) Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Libya , the Marshall Islands, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco ( new) Myanmar, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Singapore , Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden,Thailand , Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Vanuatu.
The below circulars represent the latest information to-date from the IMO.
There is no news issued under this section for this report.
BIMCO is continuously monitoring COVID-19 restrictions and its impact on the shipping industry in particular on crew changes. Below are some of the type of information currently being provided by BIMCO :
You can also view all information on our COVID-19 landing page.
Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS) publish regular Bunker Alerts based entirely on fuel samples and have kindly permitted BIMCO’s Members to access this information.
The Bunker Alerts are not intended to be an evaluation of overall bunker quality in the port or area concerned, but usually highlight a specific parameter within the fuel which has raised a quality issue.
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