Kitack Lim urges fair vaccine distribution for seafarers

IMO Secretary-General, Kitack Lim, has re-iterated his call for mariners to be designated as key workers and given the Coronavirus vaccine as a priority.

He noted that some IMO members states are reliant on the COVAX initiative of the WHO to access vaccines and urged that mariners be included in national vaccination programmes.

“To ensure access to vaccines of those countries, I call on all IMO Member States to work together towards a fair global distribution, beyond fulfilling their national needs.

“No seafarers should be left behind or forced to forgo their careers because of limited resources in their home country”, Mr. Lim said.