EU & IMO urgent guidelines issued recently require ships to implement pre-boarding screening of seafarers for COVID-19.
With hundreds of thousands of people working in the maritime industry and with around 90% of the world trade being carried around via maritime transport, IMO and EC have issued a number of circular letters to ensure the safety of seafarers and the unhindered operation of shipping, throughout the pandemic.
According to the latest Circular Letter No.4204/Add.11 24 April 2020 Coronavirus (COVID 19)
“The primary option to ensure that seafarers at risk of infection with COVID-19 can start their duties should be testing before embarking. Where testing is not available due to limited capacity, temperature checks and history of recent respiratory symptoms or contact with anyone infected with COVID-19 should be used instead.”
“…COVID-19 spreads very quickly and has an incubation period of up to 14 days. It is recommended that Member States request the ship’s master to communicate the following information to the relevant authority 4 hours before the estimated arrival in to the port of call: a. Total number of persons on board (both crew and passengers); b. Number of persons infected with COVID-19; c. Number of persons suspected to be infected with COVID-19.”
To assist ship operators to comply with these important new guidelines and help protect vessels from an outbreak of COVID-19, Poseidon Marine Supplies has launched Covid-19 Rapid Test that detects the IgG and IgM antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 (Coronavirus).
Poseidon Marine Supplies is approved by Lloyds Register and HTCert (Greek Authorities Approval) for the distribution of medical technology products.
