In the wake of the pandemic COVID-19, leading maritime training companies Seagull Maritime and Videotel have launched a new programme called: “Coronavirus- How to Beat it.”

Available free to the maritime industry, the programme outlines the common symptoms that seafarers need to be aware of and details the key precautions that individuals onboard can take to minimise the spread of this highly contagious virus. Frequent hand washing is one of the ways to reduce infection and the programme demonstrates the correct way to thoroughly wash hands using liquid soap and warm water.

It also gives advice to crew on the procedures to follow onboard if they think they have become infected, to reduce the likelihood of spreading the infection.

“The spread of COVID-19 has had serious implications for our seafarers and for the maritime industry a whole, with some port call restrictions, delayed crew changeovers and container shortages which are hampering the supply chain and causing severe disruption to the world economy. So, producing this programme seemed the obvious thing for us to do to help minimise the contagion,” said Raal Harris, Videotel’s Managing Director.

“Now that Videotel and Seagull are part of the same group, we have been able to combine to make this programme in record time. This important information will reach our combined client base which numbers the majority of the world fleet, but we also want to make it freely accessible to all seafarers to ensure everyone can benefit.  Having completed similar exercises with the Ebola and Zika outbreaks, we thought it prudent to continue to support the industry in this way,” he continued.

The programme “Coronavirus- How to Beat it” can be accessed from the Videotel and Seagull websites.

Seagull Maritime and Videotel are part of the new Ocean Technologies Group headed up by CEO Manish Singh, comprising of learning and operational technology companies and dedicated to accelerating the potential of innovative companies that serve the maritime Industry.