Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect that restrictions on the international aviation industry in response to the pandemic covid-19 pandemic are having on the ability of the merchant shipping industry to ensure that merchant seafarers in the (a) UK and (b) international shipping industry can return home at the end of their contracted voyage in line with (i) the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Minimum Requirements for Seafarers etc.) Regulations 2014 and (ii) Regulation 2.5 of the Maritime Labour Convention.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has been very clear that the pandemic does not remove the duty of care that ship operators have to their seafarers.

I wrote to the UN agencies on 23^rd March setting out the UK will continue to permit seafarers to transit and transfer in the UK and access to shore leave. This letter was shared with all state parties to the agencies. The ILO and the International Maritime Organization have also issued guidance to all state parties to recognise seafarers as key workers and to remind states of their obligations under international maritime law to facilitate the movement of seafarers and to allow seafarers to be repatriated.

I have spoken with Lord Ahmad (Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) regarding specific issues with the repatriation of seafarers.