IMC Shipping Signs the Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change

Singapore, 27 January 2021 – IMC Shipping has signed the Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change together with over 300 stakeholders from the maritime industry. We are doing this to show our strong commitment to the global call-to-action to end the unprecedented crew change crisis caused by Covid-19.

The Neptune Declaration was formed by Maritime Industry Crew Change Taskforce following initial discussions at the Global Maritime Forum’s Virtual High-Level Meeting in 2020.

To address the crisis, the declaration identifies the following main actions:

1. Recognize seafarers as key workers and give them priority access to Covid-19 vaccines
2. Establish and implement gold standard health protocols based on existing best practice
3. Increase collaboration between ship operators and charterers to facilitate crew changes
4. Ensure air connectivity between key maritime hubs for seafarers

Frederik Guttormsen, Senior Director, Shipping, IMC Industrial Group commented:

“We at IMC Shipping are deeply concerned about the thousands of international seafarers around the world being impacted by the lack of crew changes and the impact on the physical and mental wellbeing of these seafarers.

All of us have a shared responsibility and important roles to play to ensure this humanitarian crisis gets resolved as soon as possible.  Together, we need to build a more resilient maritime supply chain to ensure and protect the rights and wellbeing of our seafarers.”