Are you sounding your horns?

Ships will sound their horns at ports across Canada at 12 noon (local time) on June 25th — the Day of the Seafarer — as part of a worldwide effort to recognize the critical role marine workers have played during the pandemic and to urge governments to prioritize vaccinations for crews aboard ships.

Throughout the pandemic, seafarers have delivered essential PPE and medicines to protect Canadians, and transported the country’s trade to and from domestic and international markets to keep the economy moving.

Canada’s marine industry associations, including the Association of Canadian Port Authorities, the Chamber of Marine Commerce, the Chamber of Shipping, the Shipping Federation of Canada, the St. Lawrence Economic Development Council, and the International Ship-owners Alliance of Canada are now calling for all levels of government to ensure these men and women do not get left behind in vaccination efforts.

Many Canadian ship crews have struggled to receive their first vaccine dose due to ongoing logistical and vaccine supply issues at all levels of government. International seafarers, many of whom come from developing countries, are still unable to access vaccines at most Canadian ports.

Seafarers face particular risks of COVID-19 exposure and transmission, which include living and working on board their vessels in close contact with their fellow crew members, interacting with non-crew individuals who must periodically board the ship, and engaging in extensive work-related travel (often crossing multiple provincial and international borders) in order to join a ship.

It is also extremely challenging for seafarers to access vaccines, even when they are Canadian. Laws require that a minimum contingent of crew remains on operating vessels at all times, and crews are on board for weeks or months at a time as part of their contracts — which makes it difficult to schedule vaccine appointments. In the U.S., which has a surplus of vaccines, these hurdles have been overcome by having nurses board ships at locks or at port vaccination clinics – no matter their home country, including Canadian crew members returning to this country.

The above measures will not only contribute to the health and welfare of seafarers in Canada, but also serve as a bulwark against any serious health-related and COVID disruptions to Canada’s transportation system and supply chain overall – which Canada can ill-afford as it seeks to position itself for an effective post-COVID economic recovery.

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