It has now been a year since we first ran a story about Covid-19, then focused on precautions everyone can take to avoid contracting the virus. We have had some positive cases both on board and ashore, but for the most part, we have managed to keep pandemic risks at bay.
The reason we’ve had an effective response to the virus is because we have all done our part: we put controls in place, we take precautions, and we supported each other.
A year into the pandemic, there are now vaccines that show promising results; but the virus has also mutated into more contagious variants, prompting governments to re-introduce more stringent restrictions. As we try to endure some more, let us continue to be proactive by protecting ourselves and our colleagues, and by utilizing the systems and controls we have in place.
The most effective way to prevent ourselves from contracting the virus is to keep ourselves healthy. This poster lists pointers on how to boost our immune system, as published by the World Health Organization and the International Chamber of Shipping, confirmed by our P&I doctor, Dr. Natalio Alegre.
Click or tap on the image to download a printable PDF copy.
The moment the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of Covid-19 as a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern", a working group was established at the headquarters in Bergen to monitor the situation and to advise on measures. Information about the then novel coronavirus and travel precautions and guidelines were disseminated, an Instruction to Master was issued, and events and travels were cancelled.
True to the Odfjell core, we took a proactive approach in dealing with what nobody expected would develop into a pandemic. As events unfolded, our procedures were modified to ensure the health and safety of every Odfjell'er.
Among the other controls we have instituted to look after the health, safety and well-being of our seafarers were:
Our strong Covid-19 response is the sum of both the efforts to maintain a robust system in place, and our individual efforts to protect ourselves from the virus. Like safety, good health is something we should never compromise on; and this depends largely on us.
It has been a long exhausting journey, especially for seafarers who bear the brunt of burden these challenging times. But if we manage to keep our guards up as we endure some more, then we may well be in the final stretch of this crisis, the light at the end of the tunnel almost in sight.
Our seafarers and the terminal operators are the true heroes of Odfjell. You have not, like the rest of us, had the comfort or should I say luxury to work from the safety of a home office – you have been out there on board the ships and on the terminals. You have dealt with significant uncertainty about crew changes – when you could get home, when you could get on board the ships. Those of you who have been on board the ships have been prevented from shore leave for an extended period of time. And you have had to face the risk of Covid-19 as you have been interacting with agents and terminals and so on around the world. Despite all that, the terminals and the ships have been fully operational throughout the crisis. The credit really goes to you for keeping our fleet and terminal operations running and for keeping our customers happy. Without you, we could not have delivered as well as we did in 2020.
Kristian Mørch, during the 2021 kickoff townhall
