Global Maritime Forum — 2023-07-17
Maritime and Ports
Following the decreasing impact of COVID-19, the Global Maritime Forum, together with relevant partners and stakeholders, will explore the possibility of a Neptune Indicator 2.0, collecting and communicating data on seafarer wellbeing to drive improvement actions.
The Neptune Declaration Crew Change Indicator covering the second quarter of 2023 will be the last indicator in its current form. In collaboration with its relevant partners and stakeholders, the team behind the Crew Change Indicator will review key learnings from the initiative and investigate the need for an updated Neptune Indicator focused on collecting data on seafarer wellbeing.
Since its establishment in May 2021, the Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change has received the signature of over 850 companies and organisations. The indicator was launched to acknowledge seafarers as the frontline workers of the maritime industry, spotlighting the vital role they play in ensuring the global flow of goods that the world depends on. In its two years, the indicator has shifted from a monthly publication to a quarterly publication. However, there is no longer as much to report.
This spring, the World Health Organisation declared the end of COVID-19 as a global health emergency, thus marking the end of the pandemic. Additionally, the Neptune Indicator data has remained stable for the past year—with the contribution of ship managers reporting pre-pandemic conditions for performing crew changes.
The second quarter indicator reports that 1.9% of seafarers from the sample size have remained onboard vessels beyond the expiry of their contracts, and 0.1% have remained onboard vessels for more than 11 months. Furthermore, the percentage of seafarers vaccinated has further increased to roughly 96.6%.
For now, we want to thank ship managers Anglo-Eastern Univan Group, Bernhardt-Schulte Ship Management, Columbia Shipmanagement, Fleet Management, OSM, Synergy Group, Thome, V. Group, Wallem and Wilhelmsen, for their great contribution to the Neptune Indicator.