COVID-19 – Developments in Crew Changes in Western Australia

We have been informed by our local correspondent and law firm, Cocks Macnish, that the Western Australian Government is planning on reintroducing State of Emergency Legislation to enforce COVID-19 restrictions for a least six months.

By amending the Emergency Management Amendment (COVID-19 Response) Act 2020 (WA) and the Criminal Code Amendment (COVID-19 Response) Act 2020 (WA), the Western Australian government will continue to implement strict border arrangements, hotel quarantine, mask wearing, contact tracing and physical distancing measures and various other matters.

These measures are expected to be extended until at least January 2022. As a consequence of these measures, members should be mindful that crew change arrangements will continue to be difficult and expensive, although not impossible, to carry out in Australian ports.

In addition to the above, the Maritime Crew Directions that were implemented on 11 March 2020 have been replaced by an almost identical set of directions, the Maritime Crew Directions (No 2). The main change is the particular provisions in relation to New Zealand.

Despite these restrictions, please be informed that landing crew for essential medical treatment is largely unaffected (although there are a number of government agencies and departments that must approve these arrangements on an individual basis).

Members should contact their local agents for the latest information. If you have any questions about this alert, please contact your usual claims handler for further assistance.

类别: COVID-19