LONDON — Ships must be allowed to change over overworked and exhausted crews to help to keep trade flowing as coronavirus lockdowns shut many transit points across the globe, shipping industry officials said on Tuesday. About 90% of world trade is transported by sea but a deepening lockdown in many countries and suspended air travel have disrupted supply chains, especially for ship owners who rely on the free movement of crews to keep ships moving. The International Chamber of Shipping association (ICS), and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), said in a letter to the Group of 20 major economies, that there were 1.2 million merchant sailors out at sea at any point, with 100,000 crew members needing to be rotated each month. Both bodies called for co-operation between UN agencies, governments and airlines to enable the changeover of ships’ crews as soon as it was feasible.

Source: International New York Times April 07, 2020 15:33 UTC