Dedicated to Our Seafarers!
While many of us have the privilege to stay home and safe, working or being on mandatory leave or isolation amid the coronavirus outbreak, we should all be grateful to those doing vital work to keep life going on. Many of those are exposed to very high risk and some others to less or limited risk, yet all these people, the unknown heroes, have a common purpose, to contribute towards the fight of the humanity against the coronavirus.
Apart from everyone working in health care who are certainly the front line, a bevy of others as policemen, taxi and public transport vehicles drivers, workers at grocery stores, pharmacy staff, delivery boys… as well as all those in the background producing the products that today are needed more than ever, are keeping the societies in all countries functioning.
In all those thank you messages and actions from the public, the media and the social media, we rarely see the seafarers mentioned. Yet the seafarers are those making sure that the 90% of the goods worldwide reaches safely and timely its destination, are those making sure that the supply chain is not disrupted and every citizen in every country will continue having groceries, medicines, energy for keeping the lights on and the home warm and all those goods that all of us, unconsciously, are taking it for granted that must be available.
Philippos Philis, Chairman & CEO
Dear Seafarers,
We, your onshore colleagues, are working to convince the Governments globally, through ICS International Chamber of Shipping and IMO International Maritime Organization, to designating seafarers and marine personnel as “key workers”providing an essential service; and granting you with any necessary and appropriate exemptions from national travel or movement restrictions in order to facilitate you joining or leaving ships. These recommendations are also fully in line with the guidance provided to Governments by the WHO World Health Organization and the ILO International Labor Organization.
We are also working to create global awareness that our seafarers are the unknown heroes who are working day and night under any weather and any difficult conditions to provide the humanity with all the goods we all enjoy every day.
Thank you for staying on board and keeping our ships sailing.
Thank you for your efforts, your patience and your dedication.
You are our heroes!!
