What if our stores ran out of imported goods? This is the possibility the shipping industry is working to prevent. As COVID-19 continues to keep us at home, seemingly in a never-ending string of Groundhog days, many of the people we depend on for the goods we now buy on careful trips outside are stuck at sea, far from their own homes and families.
This article summarises the key issues and recommendations discussed in the webinar “Threats to Critical Global Ocean Supply Chains: Shipping During COVID-19”, the United Nations Global Compact Academy focused on the challenges faced by the people who make the shipping industry run: the seafarers. All content in this article is derived from this webinar.
Seafarers, the personnel on ships loaded with cargo which execute our global trade, have the important role of transporting our goods safely from nation to nation. However, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, seafarers are facing a crisis of their own, one that has largely been left out of public discourse. As Sturla Henriksen, Special Ocean Advisor explained, the impact of COVID-19 on seafarers and the sea shipping industry is a case of “out of sight, out of mind”.
The UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1996) defines "safe and healthy working conditions" as fundamental human rights. With nearly 1 million people out at sea, workers lack access to sufficient medical resources, ability to move between countries, and safe systems to disembark ships and be repatriated. First, quarantine limits the seafarers’ ability to move home or out to sea. With a 2-week self-quarantine window on either side of embarking or disembarking a ship, shipping associations and crews are working out how to feasibly changeover staff safely. This involves managing the cost of quarantine, as well as an elongated change-over time period. Second, once crews disembark the ship and are finished self-quarantine, the industry faces another blockage - repatriating crew members back to their own countries. With commercial airlines grounded internationally, crew members currently out at sea face the possibility of remaining in whichever country they land.
However, for some crew members, disembarking the ship is no longer a possibility. There are many cases of seafarers who have been out to sea much longer than originally intended and in this period of COVID-19, their passports or visas for the landing countries have expired. This poses a mobility risk at the landing ports due to policy not yet updated for COVID-19 circumstances. Seafarers risk not being allowed to enter the country in which they land if their documentation has expired. In addition to passport and visa expiry, some seafarers are starting to run out of essential supplies, particularly medical resources. Panelists drew attention to mental health threats as delays in resolving these issues continue to drag on.
Though there are a number of human rights challenges to overcome, facing these situations offer opportunities for increased international cooperation, collaboration, and increased efficiency in addressing common issues. The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) is working with international commercial airlines to secure flights for crew members back to their home countries. With 200,000 crew members moving around the globe per month in normal times, the ICS hopes to collaborate with commercial airlines in repatriating workers. As one of the most regulated industries in the world, the International Maritime Organization hopes to work with politicians to facilitate the movement of seafarers internationally during the pandemic, as well as collaborate to meet the medical needs of workers in the short-term by disembarking ships currently stuck at sea.
With a view to the future of the industry, experts fear unilateral and protectionist approaches to international trade may be on the rise, which would have diverse negative consequences on the shipping industry. Specifically, should COVID-19 decrease enthusiasm for international trade due to virus contact risks or countries experience international backlash for neglect in limiting the spread of the virus, shipping experts raise the possibility of declining support and thus demand for internationally traded product.
If COVID-19 has had one impact on the shipping industry, it has shown the fragility of our systems and the need to collaborate internationally to not only protect the human rights of all people in all different circumstances, but also to ensure mobility and well-being of workers.
Kelsea is a graduate of top European business school, HEC Paris. She studied sustainability and social innovation. Her work focuses on understanding levers for change across policy and business, and operationalising meaningful action through innovation and entrepreneurship. She is currently working on a startup to assist economic recovery from COVID-19, and will soon be starting an internship in sustainability consulting. Kelsea is a TEDx speaker and has worked in Vietnam, China, and France.