Under the new Coronary Pneumonia epidemic, the haze of imported cases abroad has not dispersed, and new problems have come.

Over the past few days, the First Financial Journalist has learned through multiple channels that the issue of seafarers landing ashore is becoming more and more prominent. This involves more than 80,000 Chinese seafarers working on international sailing ships.

Seafarers drifting on the sea for a long time are prone to psychological problems. The picture shows a smile on the face of an old seaman after receiving a signal from the land. Photography / Zhang Ke

A common problem encountered by seafarers is that they still cannot return home after the 14-day isolation period. The seafarers said, "The cargo ship has been on the sea and has no contact with anyone. Why can't you change shifts?" "After a few months without landing, the body is about to rust!" "We are healthy, we have to go home ! "

At noon on April 15, the person in charge of the relevant department of the Ministry of Transport told the First Finance and Economics after learning the above-mentioned situation, and gave feedback to the maritime department as soon as possible.

At a press conference held by the State Council's Joint Defense and Joint Control Mechanism on March 16, Yang Xinzhai, deputy director of the Maritime Bureau of the Ministry of Transport, made it clear that he was "resolving the issue of crew overtime services properly".

The crew who had floated for several months could not get on the dock

On the 14th, a number of seafarers reported to the First Financial Reporter that the ocean-going freighter where they were was docking at a coastal port in China. The ship departed from Taichung Port in Taiwan, China on March 29. During this time, it sailed on the sea and entered the country on April 1. It had stopped at this port for 14 days by the 14th.

During this period, the 12 seafarers who applied for vacation were strictly in accordance with the local government's epidemic prevention requirements, "no disembarkation, no landing". Always wear a mask during work, disinfect every day after work, etc.

The seafarers said that on April 10, local customs inspectors boarded the ship and performed a nucleic acid test for 12 vacationers. The results were all negative. The 12 seafarers on vacation agreed to take vacations when all the health codes applied for turned "green" during the docking period, and also agreed to disembark at the designated quarantine site for another 14 days, and then return home after passing the test.

It took 14 days on board and 14 days off the ship to be quarantined and then quarantined again, but the seafarers ’request for vacation was still not approved by the local authorities.

"The local government refused to let it go, and it was still a policy that came out temporarily on the 13th." "Wuhan has been unsealed, but the crew members who have been floating on the sea for several months have not been allowed to go to the wharf. I can't figure it out." Some seafarers said.

The seafarers report that most seafarers who have applied for vacation have been working on board for more than 10 months, and all of them have reached the stipulated vacation limit, and everyone has a reason to take vacation home. Some old seafarers ’mothers died and needed to immediately disembark to go home for funerals; some seafarers’ mothers had been hospitalized for 2 months and were in urgent need of care; a seafarer ’s father was hospitalized with a sudden cerebral hemorrhage and urgently needed to go home for care.

"When the boat time is overdue, it will cause a lot of pressure on the body and mind. Some people have already shown a tendency to depression, and they urgently need to take vacations to go home for rehabilitation." The seafarers reflected.

Informed sources told the First Financial Reporter that this situation exists in ports such as Zhoushan. Moreover, different ports have different regulations, and some provinces have different implementation standards. For example, in Fujian Province, Xiamen Port is fine, but Fuzhou Port is not; in Shandong, Qingdao Port is fine, and other ports are not.

Seafarer shifts require joint approval by various departments such as customs, maritime affairs, border defense, port and shipping authorities, and problems have arisen in some ports-they act independently and blame each other. "For the epidemic prevention and control policy, the localities are uneven in their implementation, just like the village was closed."

"I really should care about this group. They are too weak." On the evening of the 14th, a captain of an ocean-going freighter took the initiative to contact the First Financial Reporter. He reflected that the ocean-going crew have been working on the ship for a long time, and the actual isolation time is far more than 14 days, which belongs to the low-risk group. The crew also supported measures to strictly control the outbreak of new pneumonia. "Isolation is okay, but various special regulations make it very difficult for seafarers to switch shifts." "Really pay attention to the issue of crew shifts. The physical and mental health of the crew is also a big hidden danger to the ship."

The captain said that no matter how serious the epidemic is, shipping has never stopped, including commodities and various necessary materials. Seafarers are an indispensable link in the global economy and logistics chain. Although the relevant state departments clearly stipulate that seafarers can be shifted, some local governments have too blunt understanding of policies.

"Some routes have more than 20 days sailing at sea alone, and must be forced to quarantine for 14 days when they return to the country." The captain said that he already had seafarers on board for more than one year who could not take a public holiday. "The domestic control of overseas personnel has formed a set of strict procedures, which can be used for reference for the management of seafarers. Please report in advance and check in advance."

The epidemic disrupted the global shipping industry production order

According to industry insiders in the shipping industry, the sudden new outbreak of pneumonia has disrupted the normal order of shipping production worldwide. A series of problems caused by crew shifts has become a huge obstacle to the development of global shipping.

At present, the development of China's epidemic situation has entered a slowdown stage, and the demand for manufacturing companies has recovered. However, the global epidemic situation outside China is still spreading rapidly. Many countries have begun a series of measures such as "closing the country", "closing the city", "closing the port" .

A report from China Communications News on April 11 said that on April 1, Lin Jize, Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), together with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the heads of various UN agencies, studied the epidemic of new crown pneumonia and its countermeasures. The influence of the shipping industry, requesting support, invites countries to declare seafarers, etc. as "key staff."

The Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and the Maritime Safety Administration attached great importance to the issue of the shift of Chinese seafarers on board international sailing ships during the New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic.

On March 12, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security issued the "Announcement on Properly Making arrangements for the Crew Change of Chinese International Sailing Vessels During the New Coronary Pneumonia Outbreak" requirement, to properly solve the problems of Chinese international sailing vessels. The difficulty of shifting crews to protect the labor rights of crews.

The announcement made it clear that shipping companies should keep abreast of the epidemic prevention and control measures for ships arriving at ports during the New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic, formulate crew shifts and ship navigation plans, and promptly arrange crew shifts for crews whose labor contracts or boarding agreements have expired; for crew labor If the contract or embarkation agreement expires and the ship arrives at the port, the crew is prohibited from shifting due to the epidemic, the shipping company may extend the duration of the crew ’s labor contract or embarkation agreement after signing the crew ’s written consent, and sign a supplementary contract or agreement. The service period shall not exceed 12 months; within one month after the extension of the contract or agreement, the shipping company shall report to the maritime management agency of the port of registration.

For a crew member who has been on board for 12 months, the shipping company should immediately arrange a crew member shift. If it is indeed impossible to arrange a crew member shift due to relevant port epidemic prevention and control measures, the crew member should immediately arrange a crew rest on the boat.

At a press conference held by the State Council's Joint Defense and Joint Control Mechanism on March 16, Yang Xinzhai introduced that there are currently about 80,000 Chinese crew members working on international sailing ships. The Ministry of Transport is "properly solving the problem of crew overtime service".

Statistics show that by the end of May this year, there will be nearly 10,000 crew members on a Chinese national sailing vessel whose employment contract or embarkation agreement expires.

Protect the rights and interests of the crew and the normal operation of the ship

Seafarers are a special group. The International Maritime Organization once gave seafarers this evaluation: "Without the contribution of seafarers, half of the world's people will be frozen and the other half will go hungry."

According to the White Paper "2018 China Crew Development Report" released by the Maritime Safety Administration of the Ministry of Transport on June 25 last year, as of the end of 2018, China had a total of 1.575 million registered crew members, ranking first in the world.

Ocean freight carries more than 50% of China's domestic trade transportation and 90% of international trade transportation, including 95% crude oil transportation and 99% iron ore transportation and other important energy transportation. Seafarers are very important for China's implementation of the "maritime power" and "shipping power" strategies and the "Belt and Road" initiative.

Wang Mingzhi, former inspector of the Water Transport Bureau of the Ministry of Transport, said earlier that once the maritime industry system collapses, it will not only affect the normal operation and economic security of the national economy, but also affect the daily lives of the broad masses of people.

The First Financial Journalist learned from the Ministry of Transport that the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations Office in Geneva and other international organizations, and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have convened relevant solutions Video conference on the difficulty of crew shifts. Relevant parties said that the difficulty of changing crews is already a global problem, which requires the parties concerned to pay attention and put forward relevant measures to effectively protect the rights and interests of crew and the normal operation of the ship.

On April 12, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on the Emergency Rescue and Handling of Injured and Crewed Crew During Epidemic Prevention and Control", requesting all efforts to complete the emergency rescue of crews with injuries and illnesses on board, to protect the crew Basic rights.

According to the "Guidelines for Prevention and Control of New Coronary Pneumonia in Ship Crew (V2.0)" issued by the Maritime Safety Administration of the People's Republic of China on March 27. The shipping company should establish a crew shift operation system, clarify the crew shift management responsibility with the crew dispatch agency, formulate a crew shift work plan, clarify and effectively implement the epidemic prevention and control requirements during the crew shift process, and master the epidemic situation of the port where the crew is scheduled to be shifted The situation, as well as the epidemic situation of a ship at a port, the risk assessment of crew shifts is implemented to minimize the risk of epidemic transmission.

The "Guide" stipulates that shipping companies should guide ships to prepare for shifts, urge crews to do personal protection before shifts, and ensure that crew shifts are carried out safely and securely on the premise of meeting the requirements of epidemic prevention and control in shifts; It is planned to communicate with the port departments of berth ports to solve the problems encountered in the prevention and control of epidemics of ships and crews in a timely manner.

The "Guide" also stipulates that domestic sailing ships should carry out crew shifts in medium-risk and low-risk areas as much as possible, and ports in high-risk areas generally do not carry out crew shifts; in severe cases of overseas epidemics, international sailing ships should try to be in domestic ports as much as possible Carry out crew shifts; crew shifts should take corresponding prevention and control measures in accordance with the requirements of the government where the shifts are made.

In addition, measures such as wearing of personal protective equipment and body temperature detection should be taken throughout the crew shift process. If there is an abnormal health condition, the crew shift should be suspended immediately and handled in accordance with the epidemic prevention and control requirements; the shift crew will find a confirmed case after screening If suspected cases, close contacts, and those with fever or respiratory symptoms need to be quarantined, they should strictly abide by the relevant isolation requirements and report the health status to the shipping company every day from the date of quarantine to the end of the quarantine.

Author: Zhang Ke