Local: IMO issues new COVID-19 guidelines for safety precautions

The International Maritime Organization ( IMO) has issued guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) on the safe and efficient usage of personal protective equipment ( PPE) to help recommendations on the use of PPE to mitigate the hazards of COVID-19 contamination for seafarers, naval personnel, fishing vessel staff, passengers and those on board ships.

According to the association, this instruction often extends to shore staff preparing to board the vessel (e.g. pilots, port employees, port state control officers, shipping agents, and others) and to all of these individuals communicating with each other.

Shipping is important to the supply chain of the planet. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that all personnel involved are safe from contamination, including those aboard ships and shore staff who will need to temporarily board ships or communicate with seafarers.

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To support decision making and risk assessment, IMO has also circulated practical measures to address COVID-19 risks for all people involved on ships and in ports when they may need to interact with each other.

Recognizing that there are differences in national requirements, the guidelines propose a straight forward system to evaluate the risks and communicate the control measures that will be put in place, by mutual agreement, to reduce infection risk. They also propose simple steps and precautions to take if attendance onboard a ship is unavoidable. These include minimizing the number of persons attending; using outer walkways rather than access through the crew accommodation; frequently cleaning hands and maintaining social distancing.

COVID-19 relevant recommendations for maintaining a secure shipboard interface between ship-based and shore-based staff have been introduced by a wide cross-section of global industry groups in consultative status with the IMO: ICS, IAPH, BIMCO, IACS, IFSMA, IMPA, INTERTANKO, P&I Clubs, CLIA, INTERCARGO, Inter-Manager, IPTA, FONASBA, and WSC; and also take account of input from the International Maritime Employers’ Council (IMEC) and the International Support Vessel Owners Association (ISOA).