Singapore Crew Change Procedure & Guide Summary - For Crew Replacement Filipino Seafarers / Seaman During COVID 19 (Updated as of 11 August 2020)

In accordance to Port Marine Circular (PMC) 31 of 2020, with immediate effect, Marine Port Authority (MPA) will give priority to applications from Singapore registered ships and applications for sign-off crew only (i.e. without signing-on new crew).

 

MPA will not be approving sign on application unless robust Stay Home Notice (SHN) plan is submitted to MPA for their consideration and acceptance as per meeting with MPA.

 

Below required:

1. Confirmation that the sign on crew has been in quarantine for at least 14 days prior to departing his/her home country and has been well throughout that period. The principal will have to enforce that the enhanced SHN declaration compliance is strictly adhered by checking and verifying each individual declaration on below points.

   

a) Sign-on crew are not permitted to commence their travel to Singapore without fulfilling 14-days SHN at their home country.

  

b) Sign-on crew leaving their place of SHN to do non-essential activities while serving their 14-days SHN such as shifting of cars, retail shopping, dining out, etc.

  

c) Avoid interaction with household members.

  

d) Isolate in an individual room and use of dedicated toilet.

 

e) Daily video call check on random timings to ensure sign on crew did not breach SHN.

 

f) Monitor health closely, i.e. twice daily for fever (i.e. ≥ 38°C) and respiratory symptoms such as cough and breathlessness.

 

c) Principal to ensured that no submissions of fraudulent and dubious documents such as post-dated COVID-19 PCR test reports and edited crew self-declaration reports.

 

Kindly provide checking and accountability have been conducted to confirmed that crew have complied as per requirement.

 

Please note procedures for your kind retention and perusal asf:

As of 29-07-2020.

 

Step 1: Submit online preliminary crew change request to Marine Port Authority (MPA) at least 14 days prior vessel’s ETA. Stay Home Notice (SHN) for sign on crew shall not commence earlier than day of preliminary application. Sign on crew can only travel from home country after completion of SHN.

(For calculation purposes, day of preliminary application will be day zero. Sign on crew can only travel on day 14.)

 

Note: Kindly complete below for online preliminary crew change request.

 

IMO Number	Ship Name	Ship Type	Ship Flag	ETA Date	ETD Date
Purpose of Call - List of Activities in Singapore				Last port of call	Next port of call
Local Agency		Person-In-Charge Name (Main)	Registered Owner	Ship Operator (Coy)	Ship Manager (Coy)

 

Sign Off Personnel:

 

No.	Position	Name	Sex	D.O.B	Nationality	PP No	PP Exp	Flight schedule	Sign on date	Months onboard	Contract end date

 

Sign On Personnel:

 

No.	Position	Name	Sex	D.O.B	Nationality	PP No	PP Exp	Flight schedule

 

Step 2: Provide Letter of Undertaking (one for all off-signers and one for all on-signers) and Company’s SHN Declaration.

(Please endorse attached and revert in Word document format)

 

Step 3: MPA provide in-principal approval and to submit below for obtaining final approval.

 

For Sign On

·        Crew declaration that they have served 14-days SHN in accordance with MOH’s Guidelines, as well as provide the temperature record.

·        COVID-19 test (polymerase chain reaction (PCR) type) at his/her home country not more than 48 hours prior to his/her departure flight, with negative result. (Please refer to below MPA ADVISE)

·        Fit-to-travel medical certificate within 24 hours from departure flight.

·        Flight booking (e-ticket).

·        eHealth Declaration Certificate (eHDC)acknowledgement.

·        All sign-on crew should submit SG Arrival Card (SGAC)/eHDC [https://eservices.ica.gov.sg/sgarrivalcard] prior to the date of his arrival at the checkpoint. This is to avoid unnecessary delays during immigration clearance. The “SG Arrival Card” Mobile application can be downloaded for free from either App Store or Google Play. The SG Arrival Card is not a visa. Sign-on crew will still need a valid Singapore visa to travel to and seek entry into Singapore, if he holds a visa-required travel document.

 

     For Sign Off

·        Fit-to-travel medical certificate issued by a doctor in Singapore not more than 24 hours prior departure flight.

·        Vessel’s Maritime Declaration of Health.

·        Flight booking (e-ticket).

·        All sign-off crew should submit SG Arrival Card (SGAC)/eHDC [https://eservices.ica.gov.sg/sgarrivalcard] prior to the date of his arrival at the checkpoint. This is to avoid unnecessary delays during immigration clearance. The “SG Arrival Card” Mobile application can be downloaded for free from either App Store or Google Play. The SG Arrival Card is not a visa. Sign-off crew will still need a valid Singapore visa to travel to and seek entry into Singapore, if he holds a visa-required travel document.

 

Step 4: MPA provide final approval then able to submit for Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) approval.

Source: THOME SHIP AGENCY

___________________________

MPA ADVISE

Dear Agents / Ship Managers / Ship Owners,

 

This email is to inform you that the Ministry of Health (MOH) Singapore has requested for the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) to ensure strict compliance of the 48-hour requirements for the COVID-19 test (Polymerised Chain Reaction (PCR) type) for signing on crew.

 

The effect of this request meant that the COVID-19 test for on-signers must be carried out in the crew’s home country must not more than 48 hours prior to his/her departure flight, with a negative result. In practice, this means that the date of swab sample collection cannot exceed more than 48 hours prior to the crew’s departure. You may refer to the following scenarios for more clarity.

 

Scenario 1:

Date of Swab Collection: 1^st July

Flight of On-signer: 3^rd July

Verdict: Final no objection will be issued – upon submission of other required documents.

 

Scenario 2:

Date of Swab Collection: 30^th June

Date of Covid-19 PCR Test result: 1^st July

Flight of On-sign: 3^rd July

Verdict: Final no objection will not be issued – swab collection must be collected within 48 hours of flight.

 

By way of information, the 24-hours validity requirement for the Medical Fit to Travel Certificate remain the same and will be strictly enforced.

 

This above requirement will be in effect immediately.

Source: (Seafarers Management) | Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) | www.mpa.gov.sg

____________________________

NOTE: The purpose of this post is for immediate information only when conducting crew change or replacement of Filipino crew / seaman at above mentioned Port. This is also for guidance of crewing officers, crewing manager & crew operation staff, especially for ship manning agent in the Philippines. Above information is based on collected data only. Please send inquiry to your crew handling agent for further updates. Please also share your updated information on the comments section.