Disembarkation of foreign crew

23 May 2020 / Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health has issued a circular advising the procedure for future crew change of foreign nationals, ONLY when airports are open for flight operations (yet to be announced). Approvals will be given on a case-by-case basis, subject to given conditions.

Inbound international commercial passenger flights are still not allowed in Sri Lanka. However, there are options available for exclusive charter flight arrangements, subject to approvals being granted by the relevant authorities.

The procedure for disembarkation of foreign crew will be as follows:

  1. Only foreign nationals who have completed their employment agreement period will be allowed to disembark.

  2. Request for disembarkation should reach Port Health Office (PHO) via the agent 72 hours prior. This includes a formal request, copy of passport, Health Declaration Form (HDF) and travel itinerary for repatriation.

  3. Vessel needs to obtain routine health clearance to berth or charry out operation at Anchorage/OPL.

  4. Once the documents are cleared for health risks, PHO will grant health clearance for the disembarkation and the same will be circulated to all relevant authorities.

  5. Once crew member disembarks, PHO will observe, check the temperature and endorse the HDF based on which other authorities can proceed for granting clearance.

  6. After getting clearance, Vessel Agent to coordinate to get the PCR testing and transportation to a safe house. Off-signer should be transferred using a designated vehicle under SL Navy supervision.
    - Off-signers to be kept in isolation in the rooms in the safe house until the PCR test results are available. A copy of PCR report of all off-signers should be sent to the relevant port health office for further action.
    - If the PCR results are NEGATIVE, off-signers will be sent to the airport according to flight schedule in the designated vehicle under SL Navy supervision
    - If POSITIVE, to be sent to designated hospital for treatment.

  7. All information to be recorded and updated in the database.

  8. Decision of granting health clearance for disembarkation will be made case by case basis by the PHO and depending on the risk level request might be rejected.

For further details and updates, as well as information about operations in Sri Lanka, contact GAC Sri Lanka at [email protected]

If quoting any content from Hot Port News, please cite GAC Hot Port News as the source.

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