On Wednesday 8 April, the European Commission published recommendations on the repatriation and travel arrangements for seafarers and passengers stranded in non-Member States or on the high seas.
These new guidelines should, among other things, enable Member States to coordinate their efforts to ensure crew changes. This is a necessary manoeuvre for the smooth operation of maritime transport (75% of EU world trade), but which the measures taken to stem the COVID-19 pandemic have made considerably more complex.
The Commission therefore calls on the Member States to set up a network of ports along the EU coasts where crew changes will be facilitated and ensured “without delay”.
These ports should be linked to railway stations or airports and have adequate facilities for seafarers to be accommodated, if necessary, or undergo medical checks or even be placed in quarantine, the institution says.
“Roughly 600,000 seafarers of all nationalities serving on board EU interests ships worldwide”, it says. In fact, when seafarers’ contracts come to an end, crew changes usually take place outside their country of origin.
In line with its previous recommendations (see EUROPE 12447/6 and 12457/9), the Commission recalls that seafarers, as essential personnel, should be exempted from travel restrictions when in transit to the port where they take up their duties.
It also requires that they be able to benefit from transport connections in order to be repatriated to their country of origin, if their state of health allows it.
In order to allow the disembarkation and repatriation of third-country nationals who could not apply for a visa in advance for urgent reasons, “Member States should grant the necessary visas at the border”, the document specifies.
In the event of repatriation or a change of crew that is impossible, States are obliged to authorise the extension of seafarers' contracts by seeking their agreement.
Cruise ships and health recommendations
The Transport Commissioner, Adina Vălean, further recalled in a statement that “cruise operators have a responsibility to their customers and employees to bring everyone safely home”, including from non-Member States.
The Commission invites flag States to assist operators in identifying appropriate ports of landing and to support them in the organisation of landing and repatriation.
Finally, the guidelines include a series of health recommendations. They recall that ships are required to submit a Maritime Declaration of Health prior to entering port and recommend that ships report, 24 hours prior to arrival in port, the number of persons on board and any confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infection.
For members of crews of fishing vessels, which are not covered by these guidelines, the Commission refers to the “recently adopted guidelines” (see EUROPE 12447/6 and 12457/9).
Consult the guidelines: https://bit.ly/2xWQjNv (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)