News

The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) is now addressing crew change issues after the International Maritime Organization warned about possible safety issues.

President Rodrigo Duterte extends quarantine measures across the Philippines until July 15. In a speech Tuesday night (June 30, 2020) Duterte said Metro Manila will remain under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) along with the provinces of Benguet, Cavite, Rizal, Leyte and Southern Leyte. The cities of Ormoc, Lapu-lapu, Mandaue, and Talisay are also under GCQ.

Returning Filipinos including overseas Filipinos workers (OFWs) have been instructed to fill out the electronic case investigation form (e-CIF) on the Philippine Red Cross website (e-cif.redcross.org.ph) prior to their scheduled arrival. The order comes from Foreign Affairs Department and Philippine embassies across the globe in line with the government’s fight against COVID-19.

Due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, the IMO has decided that the IMSAS audits scheduled for 2020 to 2021 have been pushed back a year and are now to be conducted in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Metro Manila will continue to be under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) until end of the month as decided by President Rodrigo Duterte during a speech Monday night, June 15.

As the fight against the pandemic continues globally, most countries are unceasingly trying to address and adapt to general travel, logistics and border restrictions of other regions as well as of their own. This is a major consideration which shipping companies are watching out for as the maritime industry struggles to continue its supposedly unimpeded service.

As of June 6, 2020, there are 137 countries that have completely restricted entry to non-citizens, while additional 66 countries have at least partial entry restrictions. With this in mind, Crossworld has consolidated top 10 regions where most crew changes are done and their general travel restrictions to provide as guidance for the gradual reopening of regional economies.

The Philippine Government through the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), and Philippine Overseas and Employment Agency (POEA) have released crew repatriation and departure general process flows for all shipping and local manning agencies' (LMAs) guidance.

Being a seafarer is never easy, most especially during these difficult times when the COVID-19 pandemic affected the entire world. What’s usually a smooth transition to prepare for voyage has become troublesome to the maritime industry. Restrictions on crew change activities have been limited with suspension on most international and connecting flights, keeping crew stranded in quarantine facilities both local and international. This holds true even for repatriated seafarers who only wish to be back home with their families.