A customer advisory from Evergreen alliance partner Hapag-Lloyd, said it had received news from its Taiwanese partner that the Captain of the Ital Libera had died from Covid-19. An updated advisory issued by Hapag-Lloyd on Monday said that following the passing of the Captain, no ports in Asia were willing to accept the vessel.
“Force majeure has been declared and due to no Asian ports accepting the vessel, she has been diverted to call Italy first in order to repatriate the captain,” the advisory said.The Ital Libera will now sail to Italy before continuing its voyage in Asia at currently unknown dates.
The maritime industry is suffering serious losses due to Covid-19
In several countries, seafarers with recent travel history to India have been banned from undergoing crew changes, while some maritime hubs such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai have placed a moratorium on crew changes for ships arriving from India due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in this country. Currently, many Asian ports have adopted extremely strict protocols on Covid and contact between crew members and shore personnel.
The waves of the Covid-19 pandemic have been causing a lot of serious damage to the maritime industry around the world. “We appreciate your patience and regret the delayed arrival of your cargo due to circumstances out of the vessel operator’s control,” Hapag-Lloyd said.
See more: India, COVID-19 and “the bottle neck” of maritime trading
Minh Duc
