COVID-19: Operational preventive measures applicable to crewmembers, pilots, and other personnel providing services on board and ashore

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In view of expanding the information provided in our previous articles referring to health and sanitary measures adopted by Argentine authorities and aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the maritime transport industry, we list the operational preventive measures applicable to crewmembers, pilots, and other personnel providing services on board and ashore.

OPERATIONAL PREVENTIVE MEASURES

CREW

Crew changes and shore leaves involving foreign crewmembers are prohibited.

Crew changes involving Argentine members shall be deferred, excepting those of extreme need, in which cases it is recommended to be delayed at least 30 days.

Given an extreme or extraordinary emergency, the maritime agency must notify the relevant authorities when a crew change is required at least 72 hours in advance.

If Argentina Authorities detect onboard a foreign vessel, crewmembers who have been at affected areas and had symptoms of the disease, they shall be disembarked to undergo sanitary protocols and the vessel shall be put in quarantine. The maritime agency will arrange disembarkation and transportation procedures with the relevant authority.

Only those crewmembers performing loading or unloading tasks shall authorized to move throughout the deck; however, no crewmembers shall be allowed to be at the port facility.

Only in duly justified emergency cases (humanitarian and/or safety reasons), the maritime agency must notify Prefectura Naval Argentina on the possible disembark of any crewmember to get the corresponding approval.

The disembark shall be considered necessary when there are no personnel on land available for performing such procedure.

A particular procedure shall be considered duly justified when it is notified by the maritime agency and the local port authorities before the Prefectura Naval Argentina, provided the crewmember is asymptomatic and has not been in touch with a potential positive case.

In case the justified crew change is carried out, the agency must submit the health declaration certificates of the crewmembers before the local port authorities.

If any kind of medical care was required, this must be provided inside the ship, being this responsibility of the local port authority or the company in charge of terminal.

Besides, the provision of any inputs and/or requirements essential for the preservation of all the people’s integrity must be guaranteed.

PILOTS

As a measure of preventive protection of quarantine, the pilot must wear facial mask, protection goggles, disposable scrub and gloves, and avoid drinking or eating while performing on-board tasks.

Boats for the pilots transportation must be disinfected and personal sanitary items shall be wore.

At the time of the pilot′s embarkation, three (3) crewmembers must be available on the ship for the boarding assistance task, and they must maintain, at all times, a minimum distance of at least two (2) meters and wear gloves and facial mask.

The pilot will reduce his working items to the minimum and essential, in order to prevent them from being handled by the crew.

During the stay of the pilot on the bridge, this must be kept ventilated at all times, keeping both access doors to the ailerons open.

During the journey, the presence of personnel on the bridge will be the strictly necessary to complete the tasks safely, avoiding the presence of personnel not involved in the navigation work.

LAND PERSONNEL PROTECTION WHILE PROVIDING ONBOARD SERVICES

The strict compliance with the following security and protection measures established by the national authorities must be responsibility of the port terminals.

Have a clean and disinfected environment for those who inevitably need to board the vessel, which must be guaranteed by the personnel on board, in accordance with good faith, and coordinated by the Port Facility Security Officer (PFSO), in view of this national emergency situation.

Keep a minimum distance of 2 meters between personnel who provide services on board and the crew.

The third-parties and/or control officers’ room must be in perfect hygiene and disinfection conditions and be subject to the same sanitary treatment that is given to the places on board, since they are land/ship transfer sites.

It is recommended to minimize personal contact among all people who are developing activities.

PEOPLE BARRED FROM GETTING ON THE SHIPS (vessels, barges and tugboats)

Contact between the stowage personnel and the merchant ships’ crewmembers is prohibited during the cargo loading/unloading procedure.

The guard of the landing stage must stay on the dock and not on board during his working hours. The landing stage must only go down when the authorized personnel is getting on or leaving the ship.

The tugboat personnel must remain inside their our ship.

The PFSO must stay on the dock, unless there exists a previous request from the national relevant authority.

No individual shall be allowed to get on the ship unless he or she is duly authorized.

SERVICES TO VESSELS

Provisioning of ships shall be performed by using any means of load lifting.

Any service that is not justified by the maritime agent should be avoided.

Disembarkation of waste and/or other non-disposable materials is prohibited, except for those which must necessarily be unloaded with the prior authorization of the competent authority.

For pathological waste, the maritime agency must have the final disposal certificate.

The Captain shall guarantee that no contact with the crew shall take place while receiving supplies.

It is recommended to provide ships with the most necessary food and merchandise (which may include some personal items requested in particular by the on-board personnel).

QUARANTINE

The maritime agency will be in charge of provisioning of any kind requirement deemed necessary to safeguard people under a quarantine period, prior noticing the local port authority. The same procedure will apply in case of any transfer and/or service required by the competent authorities.

For further information, do not hesitate to contact us.

Dra. María Belén Espi?eira ([email protected])