Dear Captains, Seafarers, staff members, clients and associates,
Our last update was on the 8th of July. Below please find our update for the 12th of August:
A further increase of Covid-19 cases in the Far East and around the World has resulted in a number of locations tightening their restrictions once more.
At the end of July both Hong Kong and Singapore implemented new stricter requirements. In Hong Kong, crew changes are only possible for ships performing cargo operations and are subject to approval from their Marine Department (MarDep). In Singapore, we must still apply for permission 14 days before the crew change. The number of the MarDep approvals has been reduced significantly.
Although more difficult, where we see that it is potentially possible to comply with these new requirements, we continue to apply for permission to conduct crew changes.
Metro Manila and adjacent provinces in the Philippines are under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) until the 18th of August. Therefore, many facilities and services in Manila are working at reduced capacity. Additionally, domestic flights to and from Manila are cancelled, flights between other cities remain operational. Furthermore, international flights are not affected. To help overcome this, we plan to use our network of resources to facilitate the movement of crew to and from Manila to ensure that crew can continue to depart and arrive despite these challenging conditions.
On a positive note, in our last update we reported that Dubai was reducing its restrictions and we can report that crew changes are now possible in the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, as previously reported, the EU countries generally remain open for crew changes.
In Russia, the situation is also improving. Domestic flights/land travel options are almost fully restored and international flights are now directly operating to a few specific destinations such as the UK and Turkey. It is our understanding that further restrictions will be lifted as from the 15th August.
We are also pleased to report that we successfully arranged charter flights end of July on a route Hamburg-Manila to facilitate crew changes on ships trading in Northern Europe including Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.
In Cape Verde, it seems that the necessary measures to facilitate crew movements reinstated including 8 flights per week and availability of PCR Covid tests.
Please rest assured that every possible effort is being made to return overdue crew home. In every port we always check the requirements and assess the feasibility of performing a crew change. However, the same factors as previously reported continue to make this a very challenging exercise. Specifically, local restrictions / lockdowns, limited accommodation and reduced flights (which are also prone to last minute cancellations) and the overstretched capacity of Covid testing centres.
Beside all these operational difficulties, we are very proud that in a joint effort by all parties involved, we could arrange movements for 13,664 seafarers since May. The crew changes took place mainly in the Netherlands, Germany, the USA, Belgium, Turkey and other countries.
Seafarers who completed their vacation are kindly requested to report to their crew manning agency and to report their readiness in order to prepare for their next assignment and to help to replace their overdue seafarers wherever and whenever national and international rules and regulations allow.
We once again more express our ‘BIG THANK YOU’ to all our seafarers and their families for the patience demonstrated until now and fully appreciate their understanding and support under these difficult circumstances. We will continue to keep you updated about all further developments.
Yours sincerely,
MARLOW NAVIGATION CO. LTD.
Previous Company Advisories
Announcement 8 July 2020 - Company Advisory on Coronavirus - Update
Announcement 2 June 2020 - Updated - Marlow Advisory on Coronavirus
Announcement 30 April 2020 - Updated Company Advisory Regarding Coronavirus
Announcement 8 April 2020 - New Company Advisory Regarding Coronavirus
Announcement 23 March 2020 - Update - Company Advisory on Coronavirus
Announcement 14 March 2020 - Company Advisory regarding Coronavirus
