Describing the growing depression of sea people that has been floating for a year or more, Captain Hedi Marzougui presented his case Thursday at an assembly with maritime leaders and government outside this week’s United Nations General Assembly.
As the pandemic invaded the world and made navigation crews unwanted at many ports, he said, “We have gained very limited data and it is increasingly difficult to download important materials and technical support. Nations have replaced regulations on a daily basis, if not every hour, “base. “
Several months later, many borders remain closed and flights are scarce, complicating efforts to bring replacement crews for stranded at sea and forcing their employers to continue to expand their contracts.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres joined shipping companies, industry unions and maritime organizations to urge governments to recognize merchant crews as essential personnel and allow them to do so more freely. the world’s 2 million merchant sailors play an important role.
Merchant shipping teams are accustomed to long distances away from home, but like viral infections and restrictions prior to this year, anxiety increases with uncertainty, Marzougui said.
“Not knowing when or if we would move from home put a lot of intellectual strain on my team and me,” he said. “We feel like second-class citizens with no influence or on our lives. “
The Captain of Tunisian origin spent another three months at sea and nevertheless returned home to his circle of relatives in Florida in late May. But more than 300,000 sailors are still stranded, waiting for replacement crews; almost as long as waiting on the ground, looking to get back to work.
Maritime officials in Panama, the Philippines, Canada, France and Kenya defended their individual movements to allow team adjustments or mitigate the crisis.
But officials lamented the lack of foreign coordination between nations and shipping companies, calling for new regulations for countries against the virus while respecting the rights of stranded crews.
No figures have been published on the number of merchant sailors who have contracted the virus, but Guy Platten of the International Chamber of the Merchant Navy said the threat of viruses is “relatively low,” as shipping companies have strict protective measures and “have no preference for causing infections on our ships. “
He blamed “bureaucracy and bureaucracy” for delays in equipment replacement and said border guards and local port officials in some countries were too jealous to prevent them from landing. Stevedores pick them up despite ship restrictions.
France has proposed compiling a global UN list of ports that can be secured to accommodate equipment changes. Kenya has called for a global cost-sharing for an immediate plan for primary ports.
Crews paint 12-hour shifts without weekends, and Marzougui warned that extending relays without interruption may be under physical and mental pressure, which could put ships and oceans at risk.
The captain compared this to telling a marathon runner at the end of the race that it is obligatory to “start over, right now, without rest. “
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