Maldives Designates Seafarers as Keyworkers
Thousands of seafarers have been stranded on board ships or have been unable to join ships because to the Covid-19 outbreak. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) responded quickly to this humanitarian and safety crisis by urging its Member States to designate seafarers and other marine personnel as “key workers,” allowing them to travel between their ships and their respective countries, as well as disembark from their ships to seek medical treatment ashore.
When shipping people tried to justify their political and public invisibility in the past, it was believed that if you asked anyone on the street where their supplies or fuel came from, they would simply name the supermarket truck or the tanker at the local garage as the benign entities that keep them supplied. But this stubborn and ignorant refusal to look a bit further along the transport chain did not matter as much as it does now, when the desperate plight of the world’s merchant seafarers continues to be ignored.
According to the International Maritime Organization, the Maldives has joined 62 other Member States in declaring seafarers as critical workers on February 7th. This appears to be the first of many steps toward improving the maritime economy’s image in the Maldives, as emphasizing the role of seafarers will definitely improve their social standing. People will progressively be able to take up more work in this sector as a result of such initiatives, helping the Maldivian marine industry to grow and prosper. This ruling also benefits existing seafarers by making it easier for them to travel to and from the Maldives, keeping the industry afloat and allowing them to seek much-needed assistance, such as medical care, if the need arises. LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL NEWS BRIEFS Maldives designates Seafarers as Keyworkers.
