COVID-19 has taken a toll on shipping crews across the world — and a Hong Kong-based maritime company warns it could cause a lack of seafarers.Wah Kwo
US merchant marine Bryan Boyle told Insider that his job became increasingly more difficult at the onset of the pandemic as crew were not allowed to get off the ship when it was docked and spent months isolated at sea.
“Sometimes it did feel like a prison when you were out there,” he said. “It’s been really tough to be in this industry during the pandemic. Many ships were not allowed to eat with fellow crew mates or go to the gym. You were only allowed in your room or work area.”
Over the past two years, COVID-19 has created a “humanitarian crisis” for crews working to deliver 90% of the world’s goods. Early on, the pandemic left captains unable to rotate weary crews and stranded over 200,000 seafarers at sea.
Even before the pandemic, a Yale University maritime survey found that about a quarter of merchant marines struggled with feelings of isolation and depression while at sea.
Boyle told Insider that life at sea has great potential for camaraderie, but it’s easy to fall into patterns of isolation.
“You only have about 22 people on board with you. So a lot of you experience depends on how you get along with those people,” Boyle said. “They can quickly become close friends that you organize game nights with or you work out together in the gym — or they can spend their time on their iPhone, keeping to themselves.”
In July, trade associations BIMCO and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) warned that there will be a critical shortage of merchant sailors in the next five years if action is not taken to boost numbers.
“We are far beyond the safety net of workforce surplus that protects the world’s supply of food, fuel and medicine,” ICS secretary general Guy Platten told Reuters. “Without urgent action from governments the supply of seafarers will run dry.”
Fonte: Business Insider
