Singapore restricts seafarers with recent travel history to India
Seafarers are the backbone of the maritime sector. There are an estimated 1,647,500 seafarers serving on various ships globally. Off these, more than 770,000+ are officers and 870,000+ are ratings (non-officer rank).
In terms of ratings, Philippines is the biggest supplier of ratings, followed by China, Indonesia, Russia and Ukraine whereas China is the biggest supplier of officers, followed by the Philippines, India, Indonesia and Russia.
India as the 3rd largest supplier of seafarers in the rank of officers accounts for around 9.35% of the global seafarer population. This makes India a popular destination for crew signing on and off.
While the 2nd wave of COVID-19 continues its onslaught on India in the recent weeks, seafarers who have recently visited India may find themselves in a bit of a pickle especially if their shipping route involves Singapore and they were planning to sign on to the ship at Singapore.