Governments around the world are expressing their appreciation to seafarers and pledging to urgently resolve crew change issues that have arisen due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Representatives of governments attending the International Maritime Summit on Crew Changes held on 9 July 2020 acknowledged that failure by governments to resolve these issues will have significant impact on maritime transport. The statement acknowledged the inability to conduct crew changes and noted that the health and wellbeing of seafarers is paramount and is inextricably linked to the continuing safety and efficiency of ship operations.
