Coronavirus News

In an open letter posted on the MSC website, MSC Group President & CEO Diego Aponte offered public comment and perspective on the COVID-19 situation for MSC's cargo business. “The spread of COVID-19 has created a public health issue unprecedented in our lifetimes, triggering an unexpected shock for societies and economies,” said Aponte.Calling the industry “as an essential cog for global trade” Aponte’s recognizes his company’s role in helping to keep products moving while taking…

Our planet is facing its greatest challenge, and it’s not coronavirus. Asbjørn Halsebakke, Product Manager, Yaskawa Environmental Energy / The Switch, ponders how greater political action could help the maritime industry meet its most ambitious environmental goals.Why hasn’t the climate crisis elicited the same urgent response from global governments as the corona pandemic? When confronted with the terrible threat of viral spread, national leaders from Boris Johnson to Narendra Modi…

As the world grapples with best practices to contain the spread of the current coronavirus, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA, said the agency has developed guidance to support ships that operate in the Nigerian maritime domain, including banning all vessels without thermal screening facilities from operating in Nigerian waters.“These are trying times and we must pull through together that is why we have directed…

Nigeria's petroleum regulator has ordered oil and gas companies to reduce their offshore workforce and move to 28-day staff rotations as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus, according to a circular seen by Reuters.Health experts fear a widespread outbreak in Africa's most populous country, which has about 200 million inhabitants, and the country is keen to protect oil production, which provides 90% of much-needed foreign exchange.A coronavirus case on an offshore rig could spread quickly among workers and have a potentially devastating impact on production.Sarki Auwalu…

In the midst of uncertainty and significant risk to people’s health, it is clear that the need for robust and accurate screening and testing of Covid-19 is needed now more than ever.The social and health implications of Covid-19 have already been well documented. However, what still remains largely unclear, is how badly Critical National Infrastructure and supply chain is going to suffer and what measures can be put in place to preserve it, especially offshore.It is imperative that workers involved in the energy industry are supported in their efforts to keep operations running.

Australia ordered two cruise ships to leave its waters on Thursday, after a liner that docked in Sydney Harbor last week became the primary source of infection in the country's coronavirus outbreak.Although well below levels elsewhere in the world, the pace of Australia's infections is starting to pick up speed, reaching nearly 2,800 cases and 13 deaths.The government of West Australia state said nobody would be permitted to disembark from the German-operated MV Artania after seven of 800 foreign passengers on board tested positive for the virus…

German container shipper Hapag-Lloyd on Friday said the coronavirus outbreak would curb business growth at least until mid-year after reporting a jump in 2019 profit and proposing a higher dividend.Larger rival Maersk on Friday also warned of a first-quarter hit from the outbreak and suspended its 2020 earnings outlook.Hapag CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said that impact from the coronavirus was impossible to determine for the time being, but the company was preparing for a blow to trade."Transport…

Cost-cutting and price rises will help Maersk deliver higher first-quarter earnings than a year ago, the shipping giant said on Friday, though it scrapped its full-year forecast due to uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.The Danish company said its guidance on earnings before interest, tax and amortization (EBITDA), previously $5.5 billion for the year, was suspended until further notice.Preliminary results showed it made first-quarter EBITDA of around $1.4 billion.Despite lower volume growth…

As companies globally are increasingly shifting to remote working to help stop the spread of Coronavirus, Hanseaticsoft has put together a series of tips to help shipping companies keep their business and workforce agile.Some of the biggest companies in the world including Oracle, Apple, Google and Amazon have already restricted travel and asked employees to work remotely[i]. With the situation changing daily shipping companies need to prepare as much as they can to minimize business disruption.

South Africa banned all passenger vessels from its ports on Wednesday due to the coronavirus outbreak, leaving tourists on a cruise ship docked in Cape Town in limbo following tests for possible COVID-19 cases on board.The MV AidAmira's more than 1,700 passengers and crew have been unable to leave the ship since Monday, after a crew member on a cargo ship who shared a plane with six passengers on the liner showed symptoms of the coronavirus.Port authorities quarantined the Italian-flagged AidAmira while the six passengers were tested for coronavirus.All those tests came back negative, South Af

The Coast Guard Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy has published an update March 16, 2020 to MSIB: Novel Coronavirus – Update (Change 2)An outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) may affect mariners and maritime commerce. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated their Interim Guidance for Ships on Managing Suspected Coronavirus Disease 2019 (see https://go.usa.gov/xdfyG) and Cruise Ship Travel (see https://go.usa.gov/xdfVP).Illness…

Greece announced on Monday it will shut all shops apart from supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, petrol stations and food delivery services, and put anyone arriving from abroad into quarantine for two weeks, to fight the coronavirus.Greece had already cancelled mass gatherings and closed bars, restaurants, playgrounds and gyms. So far the country has reported 331 confirmed cases of infections and four fatalities. Health authorities expect the number of infections to rise.The 14 day quarantine would apply to anyone entering the country…

The COVID-19 epidemic, which was first called the novel Coronavirus and then the 2019-nCoV, is spreading fast around the world. It is more contagious than the 2002 SARS outbreak, its cousin, but not as lethal. Unfortunately, its impact on the maritime community seems to already be greater than that of SARS.Ships are being required to submit Maritime Declarations of Health prior to arrival. Ships that called in Chinese ports during the previous 14 days or have persons on board…