A Preliminary Study on Challenges Faced by Ship Management Companies during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has had disruptive effects on many industries and the maritime industry is no different. Seafarers have been struggling with the restrictions brought about by the pandemic for almost two years now; however, ship management companies that employ them also face serious challenges. With that in mind, this study aims to identify the challenges and their extent. To achieve this aim, first the common challenges faced by seafarers and ship management companies were found through unstructured interviews with ship masters. This was followed by a questionnaire process carried out with the ship management companies, employing the emerging codes. The results show how crew change operations, lack of uniformity among the restrictions of different countries and lack of perceived involvement by international maritime organizations form part of the challenges faced by ship management companies during the pandemic.

Keywords

• Covid-19, ship management, crew change