In an extraordinary display of teamwork, the Bow Sun Shipboard Management Team and colleagues from Ship Management and Odfjell Tankers worked together to bring seven Filipino Odfjell'ers home, and send six seafarers on board.
The crew change was successfully completed in the Port of Manila morning of July 10. The on-signers boarded the Bow Sun before 9:00 local time; the off-signers, after a routine check by the Philippine Coast Guard, left the port around 10:30 local time to undergo nasal swab testing for COVID-19 and mandatory quarantine. Bow Sun set sail for Ulsan afterward.
In addition to this crew change in Manila, there have been a number of other successful crew changes the past months. Recently, Crewing has set up crew changes in several new positions, also in ports where we have not had crew changes before. The crew change on Bow Cecil in Jamaica worked out very well, as did Bow Spring in Las Palmas. Several crew changes are planned in the coming weeks.
So, we have had several successes where we have managed to change, but as you are too well aware, the problem is complex and we continually fight against obstacles such as canceled flights, closed ports, visa logistics, quarantine regulations, etc. As Harald Fotland said in a previous update: In this unprecedented situation, please rest assured that Odfjell management and crewing are working day and night to search for opportunities to make sure that we are on top of all possible tracks underway. We are as eager as you to finally say ‘welcome home’ to seafarers on board, and ‘bon voyage’ to seafarers embarking a long-awaited journey.
