Merchant Shipping during Global Health Pandemics: A Review of International Regulations

Abstract This article examines the impact of COVID-19 on the international regulation of merchant shipping. First, it provides an overview of the international regulatory framework established by the WHO, IMO and ILO to respond to the impact of global health emergencies on international merchant shipping. It then examines the responses of these organisations and the shipping industry to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on merchant shipping. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that global health emergencies require enhanced preparedness and response planning and cooperation between the IMO, WHO and ILO, which includes consultation and cooperation with global shipping associations and seafarers’ unions. The objective of the preparedness and response planning should be to keep maritime supply chains open while preventing the spread of infectious disease from ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore or shore-to-ship. Equally important, the enhanced cooperation at the global level must be matched by enhanced inter-agency cooperation at the national level.