New regulations for crew changes came into force in South Korea from 8 June.
More specifically, GAC informs that:
- Off-signers no longer need to undergo a PCR test before disembarking. Instead, they must take the test within 1 day of disembarking in Korea. Any positive result must be reported to the authorities and the individual must undergo quarantine, to be completed before leaving Korea.
- Visa is no longer required for crew. On-signers with a valid seaman’s book can enter and sail from Korea with EDI submission.
- 7-days quarantine is no longer required for on- and off-signers.
According to the June Crew Change Indicator, there is an encouraging global stabilization of the crew change situation. While challenges persist, these are not reflected as an increase in seafarers remaining onboard beyond contract expiry.
The latest Indicator shows that the number of seafarers onboard vessels beyond the expiry of their contract has decreased slightly to 4.3% from 4.5% in the last month, while the number of seafarers onboard vessels for over 11 months has remained stable at 0.3%. These numbers remain very close to what has been reported since December 2021, confirming a stabilization of the situation.
The Neptune Indicator also reports a 2.8% increase in seafarer vaccines, from 83.6% in May to 86.2% in June, as seafarer vaccinations keep increasing at a good and steady pace.