Following several discussions with the Hong Kong Shipowners Association, the administration in Hong Kong is opening for conditional but unrestricted crew change in Hong Kong.
With the crew change deadline set out by a group of international stakeholders drawing ever closer, the administration in Hong Kong has taken a pragmatic approach, according to information provided by the Hong Kong Ship Owners Association (HKSOA) and confirmed by the Maritime Department (MARDEP) of the Hong Kong administration, allowing for facilitation of crew change from cargo ships without scheduled cargo operations in Hong Kong if the following conditions are met:
For more details, please see the original release from MARDEP.
BIMCO applauds the work done by the HKSOA and welcomes the pragmatic approach taken by the Hong Kong administration. The acceptance of crew change on ships without scheduled cargo operations in Hong Kong is a milestone achievement in the maritime industry’s shared ambition to perform crew change during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hopefully, this deed will encourage other administrations to take similar steps.
BIMCO is monitoring restrictions to crew mobility and provide a variety of information on the topic to the shipping industry such as:
BIMCO encourages relevant stakeholders in the industry to take full advantage of the information offered and encourages stakeholders to share new information with BIMCO in return via marinfo@bimco.org.
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