Fujairah bans crew change for ships arriving from India

Shipping agents GAC said: “Fujairah Immigration has verbally advised that, with immediate effect, if a vessel’s last port of call is India, signing-off crew are not allowed to disembark at Fujairah. This applies for all nationals.”

The move by Fujairah follows similar action by Singapore last week that barred crew change for all seafarers arriving from India in the last 14 days.

Meanwhile GAC reported that Indonesian had banned all entry for all foreign nationals arriving in the country who have been in India the last 14 days and South Korea has added India to its list of high-risk nations. A negative Covid-19 test is required for all personnel arriving at Korean ports.

India is experiencing a dramatic Covid second wave with 26 April the fifth day running that over 350,000 new cases were recorded. The country is a major supplier of seafarers to the global shipping industry, particularly in the officer ranks. Ship managers fear a worsening of the crewing crisis over the last year as countries bar crew change from India.