Offshore and dredging contractor DEME has chartered a dedicated vessel to guarantee safe crew changes on its dredging and offshore vessels during the Covid-19 pandemic. The vessel will be moored in Ostend in Belgium
DEME recently decided not to conduct any crew changes until 17 April 2020 to guarantee the health of its employees and avoid the risk of contamination but will begin to undertake crew changes after that date.
Crew members will be in ‘pre-quarantine’ for two weeks on board the accommodation vessel, which is provided by Chevalier Floatels. The vessel, Kalmar, has 220 cabins, a restaurant and plenty of recreational facilities.
This process will be carried out with personnel in small groups and in a way that ensures crew members from different ships are kept apart until they leave on the dredging or offshore vessel to which they are assigned.
Social contact and activity on board the hotel ship will be strictly regulated.
“Thanks to this pre-quarantine process, DEME can avoid the risk coronavirus ends up on our vessels and guarantee the health of our employees,” said the company.
“This also makes it possible to bring back to their families crew who are currently on board vessels for longer than expected. During this crisis, we will continue to seek solutions to guarantee the health and safety of our employees and enable the company to continue to execute projects in a responsible manner,” the company said.
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