·First, ensuring seafarers already working onboard should not be a COVID–19 risk. All seafarers currently onboard had already been quarantined for at least two weeks before joining and should be out of the typical incubation period. The worry is over the replacement crew who need to travel to those countries that the ship will berth or anchor.
首先，在船船员全部经过隔离，理论上已经度过潜伏期，没有传播新冠的可能，重点应该关注长途旅行前往换员港口的船员。
·Second, temporary regulatory restrictions enacted by various governments, based on their own risk assessment against country with higher COVID–19 infections. These restrictions include travel and entry restrictions and prohibition of crew changes within its ports. This imposition of regulations and restrictions is the prerogative of the respective governments. While these regulations and restrictions may occasionally seem unreasonable or even discriminative, we must recognize and accept that they are imposed with the common good intent to protect their people, and seafarers, from being infected by COVID–19, particularly by the Delta variant, which is more contagious than the other strains, and can result in hyperlocal outbreaks.
其次，针对疫情各国政府根据相关风险评估制定了监管和防控举措，其中包含旅行限制，入境限制以及港口换员限制。由于德尔塔变异毒株传染力强，所以即便某些举措不合理甚至具有歧视性，但出于保护其他公民，包括海员的考虑，这些举措还是有效的和必要的。
·Third, stringent joining ship protocols which require seafarers, regardless of nationalities, to undergo generally minimum of 3 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests before departure of country of origin, arrival in country where the ship is berth/anchor, during the mandatory quarantine to confirm the seafarer concerned is not infected. These multiple PCR tests provide a good stopper to break the chain of potential infected seafarers from joining the ship. In addition to the requirement of PCR tests, seafarers from certain countries are required to undergo serological testing of anti‐SARS‐CoV‐2 ImmunoglobulinG(IgG) and/or Immunoglobulin M (IgM) before they depart the country of origin. Moreover, some shipping companies such as Wallem require seafarers to have a negative Antigen test at the gangway before embarking their vessel.
第三，严格的上船流程。海员，不论国籍，在离开原籍国时，强制隔离期间，抵达船舶停靠港口或锚地后，通常至少要接受 3 次核酸检测确认有关海员没有被感染。除核酸检测外，某些国家的海员在离开原籍国之前还需要接受抗体和血清检测。此外，华林等一些航运公司要求海员在登船前在舷梯上进行阴性抗原检测。
·Fourth, quarantine requirement usually lasting 14 days. Apart from the usual 14-day quarantine, seafarers from countries with higher COVID–19 infection rate may have to undergo an additional 7 days of quarantine. Quarantine aims to restrict and isolate seafarers who are currently asymptomatic but may had been unknowingly exposed and infected. The objective of quarantine is to prevent onwards transmission of the virus and to monitor seafarers for any display of symptom. The 14–day quarantine requirement technically gives sufficient time allowance for seafarers concerned to manifest any COVID–19 symptom should they be infected.
第四，14天强制隔离。来自高风险国家船员还需接受额外7天的隔离，隔离和检测措施主要是对相关人员进行观察，查看其是否已经被感染，并且可以防止处于无症状和潜伏期的人员将病毒传播和扩散。理论上，感染人员会在14天内产生症状。
·Fifth, vaccination of seafarers. On 25 Mar 2021, WHO had issued a Joint statement calling on governments to prioritize seafarers, together with other essential workers, in their national COVID–19 vaccination programme. The joint statement also emphasized that seafarers need to be protected through vaccination as soon as possible, to facilitate their safe movement across borders. Although vaccination is still voluntary in most countries, most governments are nevertheless strongly encouraging vaccination.With increasing evidence that fully vaccinated individual reduce their possibility of infection and suffer less severe symptoms if infected, more and more individuals are coming forward to get vaccinated. Some shipping companies have made vaccination a pre-requisite for joining ship while others will only allow an unvaccinated seafarer to join ship after they cleared the tough crew change protocol. Regardless, many seafarers are getting themselves vaccinated either because of the ship joining requirement or on their own convinced that vaccination does provide them with a higher level of protection. With more major ports in the world supporting the vaccination of international seafarers against COVID–19, some shipping companies have arranged their seafarers onboard to vaccinate at ports of call whenever the opportunity arises. Some shipping companies have even offered vaccination to the family members of seafarers. With more seafarers being vaccinated, it would provide protection for seafarers and their counterparts onboard overall as well as smoothen the already challenging crew changes protocol.
第五，为海员接种疫苗。2021 年 3 月 25 日，世卫组织发布联合声明，呼吁各国政府在安排疫苗接种时优先考虑海员及其他关键工人。联合声明还强调，海员需要尽快接种疫苗，以保证他们能安全快速地跨境流动。疫苗接种在大多数国家是自愿的，但大多数政府还是积极鼓励其国民接种疫苗。越来越多的证据表明，完成疫苗接种的人感染可能性大幅降低，即便感染了，也大多为轻症。一些航运公司已将完成疫苗接种作为上船的先决条件，另一些航运公司则对未接种疫苗的海员履行更为严格的防疫防控程序。许多海员也积极进行疫苗接种，或是出于上船的要求，或是相信疫苗能有效的对个人进行防护。同时，越来越多的世界主要港口开始为海员提供疫苗接种服务，一些航运公司也开始安排在船船员到停靠港口进行疫苗接种，另外一些公司还为船员家属安排疫苗接种。随着海员疫苗接种率的不断提升，船员在船健康得到保护的同时换员流程也将得到进一步简化。
·Sixth, individual shipping company’s comprehensive COVID–19 management practices. All shipping companies we interviewed have a set of comprehensive COVID–19 policies, guidelines, procedure, outbreak management plan and Crew Change Protocols to protect their seafarers onboard and their vessels calling at ports. We are confident all other shipping companies have such strong COVID–19 management practices too. Strong COVID–19 management practices not only ensure the ships’ ability to carry out their routine operations but also enhance the health and safe environment for seafarers working onboard.
第六，航运企业全面的疫情防控措施。我们采访的所有航运公司都有全面的应对新冠疫情的政策、指南、程序、爆发管理计划和换员流程，这些能充分保护船上的海员和停靠港口的船只。我们相信如果所有航运企业都能拥有如此强大的疫情防控指南，船舶的运营和海员的安全健康定能得到更为有效的保障。
·Last but not least, self-protective measures. After more than 18 months of living under COVID–19 environment, we believe that all of us including seafarers have learnt the safety measures we should adopt to protect ourselves. Safety measures such as physical distancing, wearing a mask, keeping rooms well ventilated, avoiding crowds, cleaning your hands, and coughing into a bent elbow or tissue are easy to implement. All seafarers onboard should implement such protective measures to the full extent possible to protect themselves while working onboard.
最后，个人防护。在与新冠战斗了近18个月后，相信所有人，包括海员，都已经充分了解个人防护的做法和重要性。例如保持社交距离、戴口罩、房间通风、避免人群聚集、清洁双手，打喷嚏或咳嗽掩盖抠鼻等。所有海员要实践各项个人防护措施，保障自己的健康和安全。
