While there’s been some improvement in the crew change crisis, it’s far from over – and a recent survey has flagged the low rate of vaccinated seafarers as a significant contributor.
The Neptune Declaration Crew Change Indicator, which is published monthly and surveys data from 10 ship managers collectively responsible for more than 90 000 seafarers across all the major segments, has revealed that only 15% of seafarers have been vaccinated.
The August Indicator shows that the number of seafarers onboard vessels beyond the expiry of their contracts has increased slightly from 8.8% to 9.0% in the last month while the number onboard for over 11 months has risen from 1% to 1.3%.
“This could indicate that the situation has started to stabilise since the significant deterioration we have seen in the previous months – but the number of vaccinated crew is well below the 50% share of the population fully vaccinated in several large shipping nations in Europe, North America and Asia.”
The contributing ship managers say that continual high infection rates and subsequent domestic lockdowns are still challenging crew changes, causing disruption to crew movements and stretching resources, especially in Eastern Europe.
