Capital Link 11th Annual Operational Excellence in Shipping Forum “Addressing the Shipping Industry's Crewing Needs Now & Beyond Covid-19”.

Piraeus, Greece, June 8, 2021. Our Chief Operating Officer, Capt. Panagiotis Drosos, stated at the Capital Link 11th Annual Operational Excellence in Shipping Forum “Addressing the Shipping Industry's Crewing Needs Now & Beyond Covid-19”:

 

“At Capital we consider the human element as a founding pillar of the shipping industry. Our approach creates an incentive for our company to inquire the ways in which maritime health and safety and safety of navigation can be enhanced; to ensure and concurrently promote the mental, physical and material welfare of our employees onboard and ashore and their respective families, during these times of uncertainty.

 

During unprecedented circumstances, some 400,000 seafarers from across the globe became stranded on ships, continuing to work but unable to be relieved, in a deepening crew change crisis that threatened global trade and maritime safety. The need for emphasis on preventive security, risk management, deterrence and threat transfer, raising global standards and setting norms for the mental and physical health and safety, security and efficiency of seafarers and crew changes is now apparent and imminent. The continuing inability to conduct crew changes has been the single greatest operational challenge confronting the global shipping industry since World War II.

 

There is growing recognition that seafarers’ duties cannot be extended indefinitely and that the current situation is unsustainable. Such concerns were raised by the IMO itself, an avid advocate of seafarer welfare, through its continuing work on issues such as fatigue, fair treatment and liability, and compensation for seafarers. Indeed, most of the Sustainable Development Goals (2030 Agenda) elements can only be realized with a sustainable transport sector supporting world trade, facilitating the global economy but above all ensuring the safety and prosperity of its vital components; seafarers. The prominent notion of recognizing seafarers as key workers requires unequivocal support from all relevant parties, particularly governments. It is a catalyst to resolving the crewing change crisis, therefore allowing room for long-term planning and pursuits."