A recent report from the ITF Seafarers’ Trust reveals a continued decline in mariners’ access to shore leave since the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings will be presented at Crew Connect in Manila on November 11.
The study, titled ‘Shore Leave and the Future of Port-Based Welfare,’ is based on a survey of 96 respondents from 83 organizations that provide services to seafarers across 25 countries. According to the report, there has been a 61% decrease in the number of seafarers spending time ashore at seafarers’ centers since the onset of the pandemic. Additionally, 68% of respondents noted that most seafarers spend less than two hours in these centers when they do visit.
Barriers cited include increased workload on board ships, limited time in port, as well as restrictions imposed by port authorities and shipping companies. These factors have made it increasingly difficult for many seafarers to take shore leave.
Katie Higginbottom, Head of the ITF Seafarers’ Trust, stated: “If we take at face value the MLC regulation requiring that ‘Seafarers shall be granted shore leave to benefit their health and wellbeing…’, we must look to the regulators and the shipping industry to make sure that the operational and commercial factors don’t render this statement meaningless. There must be a consensus around defending seafarers’ right to shore leave and proactive efforts made to facilitate it at every opportunity.”
The report recommends that funders continue working with welfare providers to maintain adaptable services, regulators review requirements for work and rest hours as well as minimum safe manning levels, and shipping companies ensure humane conditions aboard ships—including promoting crew wellbeing through access to shore leave. It also calls for collective responsibility among all maritime stakeholders.
Dr. Jason Zuidema, General Secretary of the International Christian Maritime Association (ICMA), commented: “This report reminds us that seafarers’ welfare depends on shared responsibility. Together, welfare providers, regulators, and industry leaders must ensure that access to shore leave becomes the norm again, not the exception.”
Higginbottom is scheduled to present highlights from this research during next week’s Crew Connect conference in Manila.
