Implementation of Aggregated Response Plan to Effectively Protect Crew Health and Safety and Prevent Spread of Covid-19 Pandemic Aboard Ships

The global outbreak of Covid-19 has had a severe impact affecting all maritime sectors. It caused a significant worldwide health and economic crisis with a wide-ranging impact on maritime transport and trade. During this period, access to essential goods and medical items was ensured mainly by the ability of the marine supply chain to adapt by developing systems and processes quickly. Thus, regulations and instructions were imposed in response to the pandemic to monitor and counter the spread and the ancillary effects. This paper aims to assess and codify all those maritime regulations and instructions hastily created to protect the crew's health and safety and prevent the spread of Covid-19 aboard ships. Initially, all relevant rules and countermeasures to crew health and safety are explored and evaluated under the exploratory research coupled with the analysis of the relevant regulatory framework. Then, methods and processes are being created and proposed to offer a composed reaction plan to each case where the effects and consequences of the pandemic may occur. The relevant regulations are the primary source of data and similar studies conducted presently, whose outcomes are used to create and justify the recommended processes and the steps that should be followed based on the special conditions of individual cases. The paper concludes that implementing standard processes and procedures, such as those provided by the analysis, will enhance the speed and the effectiveness of handling the pandemic. It is also concluded that proactive measures coupled with fast and efficient responses are critical for developing effective procedures.