As per the new figures coming from shipping world, around 80,000+ Filipino seafarers are stuck on ships waiting for the repatriation to take place. Though those on cruise lines managed to come back to the home country when ships started calling home ports to disembark the crew, but still lot of them are stuck. When it comes to commercial shipping, there is no relief in that. With closure of international flights all over the world and limited port access for crew change, this seems fairly difficult.
Repatriation process now only dependent on occasional chartered flights and home port sign on and sign off. With people spending over more than 12 months at sea, fatigue in terms of both mental and physical has started to affect them. Suicide cases are on the rise among the seafarers. International bodies have yet to mobilize the governments in terms of crew changes.
The condition is getting worse with each passing week as more and more seafarers are due for their crew change. When this going to end, no one knows, but government across all the countries should plan something which can be beneficial for the warriors at sea.
