The COVID-19 pandemic swept our shores in the year 2020 and has since presented many challenges to the maritime industry. The lives of seafarers were also greatly affected, in particular, the lack of availability of COVID-19 vaccination to seafarers was of concern as more countries started to adopt relaxed policies towards the vaccinated.

As a responsible flag and port state authority, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has been facilitating crew changes under special circumstances. In addition to facilitating crew changes, MPA, together with the Shipping Tripartite Alliance Resilience (STAR) Taskforce, started facilitating vaccination for sea crew onboard ocean-going vessels under the Sea Crew Vaccination Initiative (SEAVAX) since 30 September 2021.

Senior Minister of State, Minister of Transport, Mr. Chee Hong Tat was present when the first group of foreign seafarers received their vaccination under the SeaVax initiative and thanked the maritime tripartite partners and shipping companies for working out a safe protocol to protect our seafarers, which would in turn better protect our global supply chains.

The first group of foreign seafarers who received their vaccination under SEAVAX initiative was from Pacific Carrier Limited. One of the seafarers from the group, Mr. Andie T. Templonuevo, shared that he can now have a greater peace of mind after being protected against COVID-19.

MPA recognizes that seafarers are vital to global trade and are committed to protecting the safety and welfare of the global shipping community. Between now and mid-2022, Singapore will provide at least 12,000 vaccine doses to sea crew on board ocean-going vessels. We will continue to work hand in hand with the industry in protecting the safety and welfare of the global shipping community through initiatives like SeaVax.

Application for SeaVax

Please refer to Link for more details. A summary of the application process is shown below: