This year’s Day of the Seafarer is a time to reflect and learn from our past and then create a better future. At Cyprus Shipping Deputy Ministry (SDM), we would like to see a cultural shift across the industry in creating a more visible and better respected workforce. Seafarers have encountered extraordinary circumstances during the past few years. As an industry, we must collaborate to ensure they are supported as a priority both today and into the future.
Since its inception, the Cyprus Shipping Deputy Ministry has always prioritized the welfare of seafarers, today supporting over 60,000 seafarers currently working onboard Cyprus-flagged ships. In addition, we have also campaigned for greater international welfare across the entire industry. On Day of the Seafarer 2022, we’re calling for the shipping industry to work together to increase the visibility of seafarers and the essential role they play in international trade.
Now more than ever, the Cyprus SDM team believes that actions speak louder than words – and finding practical, global measures to support seafarers is essential to protecting the workforce. In the spirit of proactivity, we recently launched a running event in collaboration with ITF, which was dedicated to seafarers, and recognized that seafarers are at the heart of shipping operations. In addition, Captain Lasota’s release from a high security prison following wrongful imprisonment was made possible in coordination with the shipowner and the family of Captain Lasota. Cyprus made repeated diplomatic efforts asking for a fair trial, as well as informing all the relevant European Commission services, asking for their support and involvement. We continue to collaborate with other organizations at a regional and global level to prioritize seafarer welfare and urge the industry as a whole to unite in its efforts to create genuine change
Cyprus is committed to working together with the IMO and EU to make global progress for the “fair treatment of seafarers detained on suspicion of committing maritime crimes”. Later this year, we will host an event on the criminalization of seafarers to bring key stakeholders together to progress and resolve this long-standing issue.
Following the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cyprus was one of the first countries worldwide that recognized seafarers as key workers. It implemented a formal crew change process, assisting with the repatriation of thousands of individuals. The SDM also formulated and proposed a practical, global approach to delivering COVID-19 vaccinations to seafarers, which was then adopted by the International Labor Organization (ILO). Further recognizing the urgency of seafarer vaccination, and the role this would play in easing the crew change crisis, we then committed to vaccinating all crew onboard Cyprus-flagged and managed vessels with the adoption of a national vaccination plan to provide protection to over 40,000 seafarers.
Most recently, we facilitated a network of banks to support Ukraine and Russia seafarers to access bank accounts and payments, demonstrating that practical solutions can be found and actioned to solve unexpected challenges.
We look forward to bringing the industry together at Maritime Cyprus in October this year to explore these issues and agree some progressive steps forward to benefit our international key workers. We remain wholly committed to increasing the visibility of seafarers and the essential role they play in facilitating international trade.