ILO seeks help for seafarers stranded by COVID-19

NEW YORK – Hundreds of thousands of seafarers around the world are stranded at sea due to coronavirus travel restrictions, unable to return home or receive medical care, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said on Tuesday, calling on nations to address their plight.

Many shipping and transportation workers have been at sea for as long as 17 months or more, as restrictions related to COVID-19 make it nearly impossible to rotate crews, the United Nations labor agency said.

The ILO adopted a resolution calling on nations to take action by providing medical care to seafarers in need, waiving visa or documentation requirements, and designating seafarers as key workers allowed back home.

“The problems that seafarers face as a result of efforts to contain the virus have lasted unacceptably long,” said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder in a statement.

“These key workers continue to transport the food, medicine and goods we need, but their prolonged periods at sea and the inability of seafarers ashore to relieve them are simply unsustainable.”

About 90% of global trade goods are transported by sea, and coronavirus restrictions have crippled supply chains even as closures are facilitated in some parts of the world.

Nautilus International, a union of some 20,000 shipping workers, has launched a global campaign for crew changes before Christmas.

The London-based organization said it estimates 400,000 seafarers are stranded on the ships, unable to be relieved.

Another 400,000 seafarers are at home, unable to take over the jobs at sea and are in serious financial difficulties, he said.

At a virtual summit hosted by Britain in July, a dozen countries, including the United States, Germany and Singapore, agreed to open their borders to seafarers and increase the number of commercial flights to speed up repatriation efforts.

But countries must act on their commitments, the UN agency said. In June, Pope Francis paid tribute to the stranded sailors in a special video message, saying they were “not forgotten.”

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