CORONA VIRUS / SIGN ON / SIGN OFF AT INDIAN PORTS PROCEDURE#dg shipping#shiipping

SIGN ON / SIGN OFF AT INDIAN PORTS PROCEDURE

please find below the Standard Operating Procedure for sign-on and sign-off of Indian Seafarers at Indian Ports and their movement for the aforesaid purpose received from MHA & DG SHIPPING. 

1. For Sign-on 

1. Ship owner / Recruitment and Placement Service (RPS) agency to identify Seafarer for joining a vessel. 

2. Seafarer to fill up the travel and contact history for last 14 days as per Form1i and submit it to the ship owner / RPS agency by email. 

3. Ship owner / RPS agency to submit the duly filled in seafarer’s travel and contact history form to a DG (Shipping) approved medical examiner, for assessment and certification of the seafarer’s fitness to join ship. 

4. Based on the seafarer’s travel and contact history for last 14 days submitted by the ship owner / RPS agency, the medical examiner may call the seafarer for medical examination. 

5. Upon medical examiner’s confirmation for processing the sign-on, the following further processes are to be completed by the Ship owner / RPS agency: 

a. Seafarer’s travel route is to be identified; 

b. Details of the Seafarer, vehicle, and driverii for the proposed travel to be uploaded on DGS website “e-pass for seafarers link” for generation of e-pass. 

6. Seafarer to download the e-pass from his / her ‘DGS E-governance seafarer profile’ and use it for the travel, if needed 

7. Seafarer to also share a copy of downloaded e-pass with driver for the travel, if needed 

8. Ship owner / RPS agency to ensure completion of the following processes prior to sign-on: 

a. Uploading on DGS website the requisite details of the Seafarer as per Form I; 

b. Vehicle to be properly sanitized and sanitizers, PPE (masks, hand gloves) kept in place for driver and seafarer; 

c. Seafarer and driver to maintain the social distancing requirements as per MoHFW guidelinesiii; 

d. At the port of embarkation the Seafarer shall undergo the COVID-19 Real-Time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test or COVID-19 laboratory test to confirm “negative” test result for COVID-19; 

e. The seafarer would be ready for sign-on if the Covid-19 test is negative. Otherwise action would be taken as per guidelines of MoHFW. 

f. Online sign-on (e-migrate) to be done for the seafarer. 

9. With the completion of the above formalities, the seafarer would be ready for signing-on and can be placed on board 

10. Driver to drop seafarer in the port / safe locationiv, as applicable 

2. For Sign-off 

1. The master of a vessel, before arrival at its port of call in India, shall ascertain the state of health of each person on board the vessel and submit the Maritime Declaration of Health to the health authorities of the port and to the port authorities. In addition, the information required by the local health authorities of the port, like temperature chart, individual health declaration, etc. shall also be provided by the master as per the directives of the health authorities of the port. Port health authorities shall grant pratique to the vessel prior to berthing as per necessary health protocols. 

2. Seafarer to wear necessary PPE (masks, hand gloves) on arrival 

3. Seafarer arriving on a vessel from any foreign port or arriving on a coastal vessel from any Indian port would undergo the COVID-19 RT-PCR test or COVID-19 laboratory test to confirm “negative” test result for COVID-19. 

4. If the seafarer is tested as “positive” for COVID-19 will be dealt with as per the procedures laid down by MoHFW, Govt. of India 

5. Upon a seafarer tested as “negative”, the Ship owner / RPS agency to ensure completion of the following processes: 

a. Seafarer’s travel route post sign-off is to be identified; 

b. Details of the Seafarer, vehicle, and driver for the proposed travel to be uploaded on DGS website “e-pass for seafarers link” for generation of e-pass; 

c. Requisite details of the seafarer as per Form I are to be uploaded on DGS website. 

d. On line sign-off (e-migrate) to be done for the sea-ferer. 

6. Seafarer to download the e-pass from his / her ‘DGS E-governance s