Singapore extends south Asia crew change ban

Singapore has banned crew changes involving non-residents who have recently travelled to Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka on the possibility that India's second wave of Covid-19 infections may have spread to its neighbouring countries.

The ban by Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority took effect at 11.59pm local time (3.59pm GMT) on 1 May. It comes after Singapore's health ministry barred non-residents with a recent travel history to India on 23 April.

India is a major provider of vessel crew and officers, but Bangladesh and Pakistan are also sizable contributors to crew population on vessels. The latest ban will likely further delay efforts to release the 150,000-200,000 sailors currently stuck on ships because of lockdown measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak.

India has reported more than 300,000 new Covid-19 cases for a 12th straight day, recording 368,147 fresh cases in the last 24 hours.

By Andrew Khaw