United Nations bodies call for further action to end seafarer crisis

Four UN organizations have called for continued global collaboration to address the crew change crisis that at times during the COVID-19 pandemic has left more than 400,000 seafarers stranded at sea.
In a joint statement issued on 28 February, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Health Organization (WHO) say new challenges and variants of concern like Omicron threaten to worsen the plight of the world’s seafarers, who play a vital role in global trade.
They note that as COVID-19 travel restrictions eased and vaccination rates increased among maritime personnel, the humanitarian crisis at sea showed signs of improvement before the Omicron variant appeared.