The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) on Tuesday (22 September) published a circular regarding further enhancements to crew change procedures in order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all persons in light of the Covid-19 pandemic: 

FURTHER  ENHANCEMENTS TO CREW CHANGE FOR CARGO SHIPS IN THE PORT OF SINGAPORE

MPA  will continue  to consider  the  following  circumstances  for  crew  change applications:

1. crew whose employment contract has expired;
2. additional crew on board whose sign-off would not affect the safe manning of the ship;
3. change of crew due to the sale or purchase of ship;
4. personnel who are not part of the ship’s crew such as superintendents and service engineers;
5. compassionate grounds e.g. death of family member; or
6. the crew is no longer medically fit to work onboard the ship.

MPA has reviewed and revised the requirements for crew change as follows:

Sign-on

1. In  general, all signing-on crew are required  to  serve  14-day  Stay-Home-Notice (SHN) in the crew’s originating country/region. The crew should be properly  isolated  (individual  room with  dedicated  toilet)  with  strictly  no interaction  with  others  (including  family  members)  at  his/her  place  of residence, or serve the SHN in a dedicated facility/hotel.
2. Crew  from  specific  low  risk  countries/regions  will  either  no  longer  be required  to  serve  the  SHN  or  serve  a  shorter  SHN  of  7  days  in his/her originating country/region prior to departure for Singapore. Please refer to MOH’s website(https://www.moh.gov.sg/covid-19)for the latest list of low risk countries/regions.
3. The crew must have a negative result from a COVID-19 test (polymerase chain reaction (PCR) type) taken at a government-approved or ISO 15189-accredited  testing  facility  not  more  than 72 hours prior to departure for Singapore.
4. The  crew must be certified fit-to-travel by a doctor at his/her originating country not more than 24 hours prior to departure for Singapore.
5. During the entire crew change process, especially during the journey to join the ship in Singapore,the crew should not be in a group of more than five (5) persons, and must  remain  in  the  same  group.There  must  be  no interactions between groups.
6. The crew should only arrive in Singapore to join his/her ship not more than two (2) days before the ship’s departure from Singapore.
7. Crew who have recovered from COVID-19 must submit documentary proof of his/her past diagnosis of COVID-19 based on the earliest positive PCR test result. The guidelines are as follows:
   1. If the date of the positive PCR test result is 21 days or fewer before the date of arrival in Singapore, he/she will not be approved for crew change.
   2. If the date of the positive PCR test result is between 22 to 90 days before the date of arrival in Singapore, the recovered crew need not serve theSHN  at his/her  originating country/region and  take  a COVID-19 PCR test within 72 hours before departure for Singapore.
   3. If the date of the positive PCR test result is between 91 to 180 days before the date of arrival in Singapore, he/she must serve a 14-day SHN at his/her originating country/region.The recovered crewneed not take a COVID-19 PCR test within 72 hours before departure for Singapore, but if he/she develops symptoms during the SHN period, he/she must be tested for COVID-19.
   4. If the positive PCR test result is more than 180 days before the date of arrival in Singapore, he/she must serve a 14-day SHN at his/her originating country and take a COVID-19 PCR test within 72 hours before departure for Singapore.

Sign-off

1. The crew   must   not   have   gone   ashore   in   the   last   14 days   before disembarking the ship and has remained well throughout that period.
2. The crew must be certified fit-to-travel by a doctor in Singapore not more than 24 hours before disembarking the ship.
3. MPA will facilitate pre-departure COVID-19 PCR testing for sign-off crew in Singaporein accordance with the prevailing national policy. Please refer here for more information.Ship owners/managers/agents will bear the cost of the COVID-19 tests of their crew, where applicable.  

Stay at holding facilities

Sign-on and sign-off crew may stay at designated holding facilities for up to 72 hours. Please refer to Annex A For details of the designated holding facilities.

General

Ship owners/managers/agents must apply for crew change in Singapore by filling up the online form or scan the QR code below.

MPA urges ship owners/managers/agents to submit applications at least 14 days before the planned crew change, especially if the application includes sign-on crew. For foreign-flagged ships, crew change will be considered if the ship meets all prevailing requirements, and are in Singapore for cargo operations, bunkering and/or other marine services.

Annex A

Designated holding facilities for SIGN-ON crew

Floatels @ Tanjong Pagar Terminal
Rooms: Air-conditioned with en suite bathroom
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner included. Meals will be delivered to the room.
For reservations, please contact:
+65 8939 7507
[email protected]

Designated holding facilities for SIGN-OFF crew

Seacare Hotel
Rooms: Air-conditioned with en suite bathroom
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner included. Meals will be delivered to the room.
For reservations, please contact:
Phang Jing Huei
+65 6818 2680r
[email protected]

Accommodation vessel Posh Bawean
Rooms: Air-conditioned with en suite bathroom
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner included. Meals will be delivered to the room.
For reservations, please contact:
Jonathan Ng
+65 9740 4775
[email protected] 

A full copy of the circular is available for download here. 

Photo credit: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
Published: 20 September, 2020