Getting seafarers vaccinated is the key to solving the crew change crisis
The lifeblood of global trade is shipping. It is how we get over 90 percent of our goods, medicines, devices, and food. And it is thanks to seafarers that we have these things that we need for our daily routines.
The global economy depends on the world’s 2 million seafarerswho operate the global fleet of merchant ships. Without them, the oldest and most efficient form of trade would not exist. It is thanks to seafarers that we owe so much of what we have. However, as devastating as the COVID-19 pandemic has been for global society, it has been especially detrimental to seafarers, as they have been prevented from getting on and off their vessels due to government restrictions related to the pandemic.
The outbreak of COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. More than a year later, travel restrictions still severely impact seafarers; as of January of this year, about 400,000 seafarers remain stranded on board their vessels. Months after their contracts have ended, they cannot return to their home countries, let alone their homes and families. And about the same number of seafarers desperately need to replace them to support their families. . .READ MORE
Education Updates
Maritime Education Provides an Important Gateway for Students to Work in the Shipping Industry
To an outsider, the maritime industry can often seem a daunting, foreign and rather archaic industry. For students in maritime education programs, the maritime industry opens up to them after they graduate, and it is not foreign or daunting at all.
While rare, it is possible for someone with no prior knowledge of shipping or ports to become involved in the business. As Congressman Elijah Cummings once said, “If they can’t see it, they can’t dream it.” But receiving a maritime education. . . READ MORE
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