Centre calls for vaccinating ship crew

The Centre has called for ramping up vaccinations of crew before they embark on ships as the ongoing second wave of Covid-19 in India threatens to disrupt supply chains, a senior government official said.

Vaccination facilities are being set up at Mumbai, Kochi and Kolkata ports, the official added.

Global shipping lines have warned of a possible spread of Covid-19 because of crew change. Several countries, including Singapore, have restricted crew change at ports for those who have recently travelled from India.


Given the dominance of Indian seafarers in global trade, the rising cases of Covid-19 in the country could potentially disrupt supply chains.

Besides China and the Philippines, India is one of the largest suppliers of seafarers, and the rise in infections could lead to supply chain disruptions bigger than the Suez Canal blockage in March this year, as per global market watchers.

The Centre has taken cognizance of the matter, the official told ET.

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways on Friday also issued a circular to the 12 major ports in the country, asking them to strengthen healthcare infrastructure at ports.

The ministry has asked ports to arrange for vaccination for all employees, and their dependents.

Vaccination centres are to be set up for seafarers, and the expenses for their inoculation will be borne by respective shipping lines. Besides, the ministry has also asked port authorities to maintain sufficient supply of critical drugs like Remdesivir and improve ICU facilities as well as make oxygen and ventilators available.

We are taking stock of the situation, but a clear solution to this issue is not in place,” the official said, asking not to be identified.

“We are putting in place a vaccination strategy for seafarers, and facilities are being set up at Mumbai, Kochi and Kolkata ports,” the official said.

Indian ship owners are facing issues in signing off those crew members who have completed their tenure as there are no flights operating to bring them back.

As per international rules, a ship owner has to maintain safe-manning on vessels, which requires a certain staff strength to be maintained at all times on the vessel.

“We can’t run a vessel short of hands,” said Anil Devli, CEO of the Indian National Shipowners' Association.

“Around 11-13% of the world’s seafarers are supplied by India. Certain ships are only Indian manned, that’s where the problem is,” Devli added.

Besides, Indian ship owners, as per the government rules here, cannot deploy foreign crew on ships, which is adding to their woes, said an industry executive who did not wish to be identified.

“We have been pleading with the government for the past six months to get seafarers vaccinated on priority, to consider them frontline workers,” the person said.

With rising Covid-19 cases, even as a crew member is boarding the vessel with a negative RT-PCR test result, instances have come up in the past weeks where the person has developed symptoms on board and the country where the ship is destined refuses to charter the ship.

“Eventually, Indian seafarers will get replaced by foreigners,” the person said, adding that these incidents were adding to costs.

The person said an acute shortage of vaccines has also deterred the inoculation of seafarers.