Seafarers stuck at sea or in port as virus surged

When the coronavirus pandemic gripped the world last year, an invisible army of seafarers were scattered around the world and found themselves stuck at sea or in ports, unable to leave because of the surging virus. Some 400,000 people still managed to keep the industry going, with cargo ships never stopping the deliveries of food, medicine or other necessities to countries all over the word over the duration of the global health crisis. Daresh Villarayan, from Punnaikayal, Tamil Nadu in India, spent a month in Sri Lanka stuck on his vessel along with other sailors there. He had to quarantine several times, including in his native village.

"So, because of corona, there are lot of problems in the life of a seaman," he said.

Hermant Solanki, a seafarer from Surat, Gujarat in India, on the other hand, could not sail for eight months before trying to join a ship in Egypt. He spent a month in a hotel, but this attempt eventually failed too because of the virus and Solanki was left without any income. Mobin Mulla, a seafarer from Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, said "another job better" because he has not been able to see his family for so long. To help those affected by the virus pandemic, a special charity fund has been set up as officials urged on the International Seafarers Day on Friday that governments do more to speed up vaccination of seamen to enable them to work more freely.

"We owe the seafarers a huge debt of gratitude because not one time during the last 15 months have they stopped sailing on the ships," said Guy Platten, Head of the International Chamber of Shipping.

He said at no point did they stop, carrying on delivering "the fuel, the food, the medical supplies and all the other essentials that keep the world going". "They've been the forgotten heroes of this pandemic and they've really been collateral damage because it was so easy for countries to say we'll take nobody into our country, except, of course, they wanted the ships to come in and just discharge their cargo," Platten said.

Platten warned that the cargo ship industry could lose much of its workforce, as workers might opt to trade their jobs for more stables ones. "Why on Earth would anyone want to choose a career at sea," he asked, if people are wondering if they're "ever going to get home again?"

"So, these things are really important, and governments need to sit up and take notice."

Catherine Spencer, CEO of the seafarers' charity Seafarers UK, said they have raised over 800,000 USD to help the seafarers. The charity is working with various groups delivering help. "But we know that that situation that we are seeing in India is likely to be repeated," she warned. "So we really need to encourage people to continue donating to the fund, so we can get help to these seafarers and their families across the world."