The pandemic has left merchant sailors stuck at sea for months longer than they anticipated
250,000: That’s the number of seafaring shipping workers stuck at sea for extended periods because of Covid-19 restrictions, potentially causing further disruptions to fraying global supply chains, according to the International Chamber of Shipping, per Bloomberg.
The supply chains linking the global economy have been severely tested by the Covid-19 pandemic, with shuttered factories halting production, followed by massive lockdowns complicating demand. It’s a mess that could have lasting consequences: McKinsey estimates the aggregate losses stemming from supply chain disruption in the trillions of dollars.
But the latest wrinkle involves the industry that stitches supply chains together: the shipping business. The pandemic has made basic crew changes on the world’s roughly 55,000 cargo ships much more complicated. “A huge number of seafarers on merchant ships have been unable to disembark once their contracts have ended, facing excessive times at sea and away from home,” one major shipping firm reported.
An extreme example involves three ships idled in Australian ports: their crews have halted work, demanding to be allowed home. But “the costs and logistical challenges to send them home are enormous,” a shipping researcher told Bloomberg.
The number of stranded shipping workers is just one data point in a much larger pattern — from the thousands of garment workers protesting for pay in the wake of canceled orders from major clothing brands, to the more than 16,000 meatpacking workers infected with Covid-19 in the U.S. alone — the pandemic’s strain on global supply chains comes with a heavy human cost.
In short: Supply chains are people, too.
