Dear Captains, seafarers, staff members, clients and associates,
We are communicating with you in order to brief you about the recent and on-going developments with regards to the measures taken by several countries in order to avoid the spreading of the virus COVID-19 and the impact that such measures still have on our scheduled crew replacement planning.
In our previous circular to you, we have informed you that we were considering to implement crew changes as from the 5th of May, hoping that by then all the restrictive measures in domestic and international travel as well as the quarantine related regulations would have been relaxed by many countries. We also expected that such measures would have been relaxed to such an extent that they would somehow ensure crew changes without endangering at any given time the health and the wellbeing of our seafarers.
Unfortunately, by the time of writing this message to you, we have not seen much progress or any developments towards this direction. Instead and as many of you know from your own country’s policies, some of them extend even further their domestic and international travel and other related to COVID-19 restrictions.
It is for these reasons that we regret to advise you that it will not be possible to return to a normal and regular crew change procedure for all our seafarers as from 05 May 2020. Instead we will execute crew changes if and when and where possible but we will have to further postpone crew changes where national regulations and limitations prohibit same.
This time we will refrain from indicating any particular date for a general resumption of crew changes, assuring you that we are constantly following very closely on a daily basis all the developments on the Covid-19 situation within all countries and will resume crew changes as quickly as possible. We will of course keep you informed of any future developments.
For your further information we are in contact and cooperate with key industry bodies to work on the logistics for crew changes once the limitations are lifted to a large extend. In this respect there are ongoing discussions with governments about the ease of visa restriction, with airlines about the availability of flights including the possibility to charter airplanes in case no sufficient number of airplane seats can be availed off.
Our agencies and our crew department are preparing for the end of the travel restrictions in order to arrange crew changes in the most effective manner once the situation allows for it.
Concluding, we would like to repeat once again our very big “THANK YOU” to all our seafarers and their families for their understanding and great support under these difficult circumstances. As we said before, the whole of humanity needs now more than ever before the unobstructed supply of food, medicine and all other life-supporting consumables transported by ships. We are thankful to all seafarers who are during these days the front line key workers.
Updated Company Advisories
Announcement 12 August 2020 - Company Updated Advisory on Coronavirus
Announcement 8 July 2020 - Company Advisory on Coronavirus - Update
Announcement 2 June 2020 - Updated – Marlow Advisory on Coronavirus
Previous Company Advisories
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
