The Offshore Industry Group has demanded the UK government exempts all offshore wind and other offshore energy sector workers from the 14-day quarantine restrictions introduced on 8 June.
The body said that “despite assurances that international offshore energy sector workers would be exempt from the quarantine restrictions, which the UK government introduced on 8 June, these workers have not yet been included in the list of exemptions”.
The Offshore Industry Group comprises the International Association of Geophysical Contractors, the International Marine Contractors Association, the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers, International Support Vessel Owners Association and the International Association of Drilling Contractors.
“These workers perform a wide variety of specialised roles which are all critical to the daily activities required to maintain global energy supplies, such as windfarm engineers and offshore survey specialists,” the group stated.
The group has the support of the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) secretary-general for its recommendations, as detailed in the IMO circular letter 4204/Add.13.
The Offshore Industry Group asks for offshore energy sector workers to be recognised as “key workers”.
Doing so allows regular crew movements during mobilisation and demobilisation and exempts such workers from quarantine restrictions, said the group.
The group has written to more than fifty governments and maritime authorities urging them to implement these recommendations.
In a subsequent document, IMO circular letter 4204/Add.18, the secretary-general of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the director-general of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the secretary-general of the IMO jointly issued a statement to enlist the support of governments for the facilitation of crew changes in ports and airports in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.