the cargo/container ships are foreign workers, mostly slave labor from laos, cambodia, vietnam, china, etc. Out to sea for months at a time. But can’t get shore leave because they’re not vaccinated or have the wrong vaccine (i.e. sinovac) and so are subject to quarantine. Being ashore is when they can contact their families. What they’re asking for in a roundabout way is for ports to offer WHO-approved vaccines so by the next port, they can go ashore.
How come you never see Free Traitors™ comment on these types of stories?
OK. I get what you’re saying and it seems reasonable. But a seaport is a node that trade goods simply pass thru. There are truckers, longshoremen and rail workers who must move the containers out from the port. These workers are under threat of termination if they refuse vaccination. And quite frankly the crew could be restricted to the ships during the unloading/loading process. And this whole thing from the USA’s perspective is completely absurd when we are allowing tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants into the country each week with minimal-to-no health screening.
where the worlds seafarers come from:
“China, the Philippines, Indonesia, the Russian Federation and Ukraine are estimated to be the five largest supply countries for all seafarers (officers and ratings). The Philippines is the biggest supplier of ratings, followed by China, Indonesia, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. While China is the biggest supplier of officers, followed by the Philippines, India, Indonesia and the Russian Federation.”
“The global demand for seafarers is estimated at 1,545,000, with the industry requiring approximately 790,500 officers and 754,500 ratings. This indicates that the demand for officers has increased by around 24.1%, while the demand for ratings has increased by around 1.0%. The current supply-demand situation highlights a shortage of approximately 16,500 officers and a surplus of around 119,000 ratings.”
“While the global supply of officers is forecast to increase steadily, this trend is expected to be outpaced by increasing demand.”