Guidance on the prevention and control of COVID-19 on board

In order to assist ship owners and ship operators to define prevention measures to their crews officers and superintendents related to facing the COVID 19 outbreak worldwide Bureau Veritas is pleased to communicate the attached IMO Circular letter and its attachment.

Indeed the attached Guidance on the Prevention and Control of COVID-19 on Board (v 1.0) is based on lessons learned and experience gathered by the Chinese shipping companies and the recommendations developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to face the COVID-19 crisis. This document is aiming at offering a global response to overcome the challenges brought on all of us as members of the worldwide shipping industry, as such this communication should be perceived as high value information and recommendations for the benefit of the whole shipping community.

In addition to this IMO communication and as an illustration of it Bureau Veritas is also attaching its procedural guidance to Ship-owners and operators before BV attendances in China(in line with the local rules of the Chinese government) .

BV considers the a/m documents as fully relevant to the COVID Situation and urges ship-owners- ship operators to implement these measures without delay in order to prevent any delay-disruption of the ship operations at the time of the calls in various harbors and to protect as much as can the Health and Safety of all the involved stakeholders.