The IMO has been issuing MSC.1/circ.1 in a series of revision, each time a new Member State informs the IMO of their national focal point of contact for crew change and repatriation of seafarers. BIMCO has been posting the updates in our COVID-19 implementation measures section and informing members weekly with our COVID-19 report.

Via their circular letter no. 4398 dated 8th April, the IMO announced that a new module on Crew Change and Repatriation of Seafarers is now available on the Global Integrated Shipping Information System ( GISIS). This is where Member States will enter the information, as done previously by the said circular letter series, directly into this new module, allowing for notification and dissemination of information on national focal point of contact for crew change and repatriation of seafarers to be available expeditiously.  Hence, this MSC.7/circ.1 series will be discontinued as the same will now be transferred to the new module.

Guidance on the use of this new module and how to access it, is set out in the above-mentioned circular letter no. 4398, item 4 of Annex I.

Source: BIMCO