17 April 2020
The discussion whether governments should designate crew change ports has taken a new turn with European associations of port authorities and terminal operators speaking out against the proposal of the European Commission requesting Member States to designate specific ports where crew changes are possible. In a joint statement issued today, the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) and the Federation of European Private Port Operators (FEPORT) call upon EU governments to enable crew changes in all EU ports. The organisations raise technical and economic reasons why having a select group of crew change ports would not work. The statement comes after the European Community Shipowners’ Association (ECSA) and the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) called for an urgent political agreement on the proposals of the Commission earlier this week. The concept of ‘crew change hubs’ originated from a call of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) to G20 countries last week, which covered both seaports and – even more importantly – airports. Meanwhile, a new alliance of leading shipowners and managers, which represents more than 1,500 vessels and 70,000 seafarers, has proposed that collective crew changes at designated ports are a feasible short-term aim even during the coronavirus pandemic, provided state assistance is made available. The alliance identified Singapore, Houston, Rotterdam, Gibraltar, Jebel Ali, Fujairah, Hong Kong and Shanghai as the prime crew change hubs of the world.