SOCP US Mariner Crew Change Facilitation Guidance COVID-19
The Ship Operations Cooperative Program (SOCP) has announced the development and release of the U.S. Mariner Crew Change Facilitation Guidance for COVID-19 (Revision 1.0).
The SOCP Safety and Health Working Group, led by Captain Cole Cosgrove, Working Group Chair, spearheaded this effort at the request of industry
to help operators manage crew changes as safely as possible. SOCP membership, association friends, industry partners, mariners, medical providers, regulatory and labor stakeholders have all contributed to this document.
COVID-19 infections on commercial vessels have been infrequent thanks to the change efforts of the mariners and the cooperation of labor providers, terminal operators, industry oversight organizations and vessel
owners/operators.
So far, the moratorium placed on commercial vessel crew reliefs has worked, but indefinitely keeping mariners on their vessels is not a sustainable solution for them or the industry. The objective of this
document is to provide initial protocols that can be used uniformly across the U.S. maritime industry to allow for the resumption of much-needed vessel crew changes.