All united for our heroes at sea

BOURBON and 600 other shipping companies are today signatories of the "Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change". A way of recognizing their common responsibility in the search for a lasting solution to the crisis of the crew changes which has affected the entire maritime community since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

These last months, preventive health measures, border closures and the sharp slowdown in air transport led hundreds of thousands of seafarers to extend their embarking period. As a direct consequence, physical and mental fatigue has increased the risk of incidents. In this context, this Neptune Declaration on Seafarer Wellbeing and Crew Change calls for the implementation of four principal actions to face the crisis:

• Recognize seafarers as key workers and give them priority access to vaccines,
• Establish and implement reference health protocols based on existing best practices,
• Increase collaboration between vessel operators and charterers to facilitate crew change,
• Ensure air connectivity between major maritime platforms for seafarers.

BOURBON reaffirms its commitment to act with all actors involved to find sustainable solutions and support all seafarers.