Singapore officially tightens crew shift policy
Due to the previous incidents of crew changes tampering with test results in Singapore and the increased risk of COVID-19 cases imported into Singapore, on July 24, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) officially announced the strengthening of its restrictive measures.
In terms of crew replacement, Singapore assisted in the replacement of about 300 crew members every day in July. These crew changes are carried out through its "safe corridor" procedures, as detailed in the Singapore Crew Replacement Guide. The guide was jointly issued by an industry working group led by the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) and the Singapore Maritime Officials Union, and was supported by MPA.
Earlier, there were three cases of infection in Singapore within a week. The crew of the ocean-going cargo ship originally scheduled to be in Singapore for a shift was found to be positive for COVID-19 upon arrival, which prevented the relevant shipping company from successfully replacing the crew. Singapore has invested a lot of resources to isolate the crew and minimize the possibility of the virus spreading to other people (including other crew members).
MPA is working with the industry working group to provide more detailed guidelines on the "safe corridor" procedures to ensure crew replacement, including the need to self-isolate when performing 14-day home isolation (SHN) to ensure accurate COVID-19 test results, and The crew transferred directly from Singapore Airport to reduce contact.
MPA hopes that shipowners, ship management companies and ship agents can play their roles in safe crew replacement. Due to some violations of procedures in Singapore, MPA recently reminded shipowners, ship management companies and ship agents to strictly abide by the "safe corridor" procedures, including ensuring accurate COVID-19 testing, and ensuring that crew members comply with themselves during home isolation isolation.
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