WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE
ROLLED OUT THE COVID-19 VACCINE?
Adam Goldstein, global chair of Cruise
Lines International Association (CLIA), an
industry lobby group, told USA Today that
he believes vaccines, alongside preventative
measures such as pre- and post-cruise testing,
mask wearing and hand washing, will help as
cruise lines look to head back to sea.
According to CLIA, global cruise
activity supports over 1.17 million
jobs in a wide cross-section of
industries and sectors, from
ground and air transportation
to food and beverage,
lodging, manufacturing,
hotels, professional services
and a broad range of
suppliers and service
providers, with up to 2,500
jobs lost each day that cruises
are not operating. No cruise
line has yet mandated inocula-tion
for passengers.
DIGITAL HEALTH ‘PASSPORT’
In December 2021, Singapore started piloting the
use of so-called ‘digital health passports’ to
verify travellers’ coronavirus test results,
Channel News Asia reported.
Digital health passports use blockchain
technology to share data securely. Several
technology firms have developed apps using the
50 SUOMEN MERENKULKU J FINLANDS SJÖFART
F Global vaccine roll-out could take some time
Source: Local media reports / information as
at 28 December 2020, 1500 UTC.
system and are working with the government,
with funding by Temasek, a state-owned invest-ment
company, to trial their use for inbound
travellers to Singapore.
Prospective travellers to Singapore take a
Covid-19 test at an approved healthcare provider.
The results are issued via a QR code, which
travellers receive via an app and show to border
force. Immigration officers can see details such
as whether the test laboratory is on an approved
list, what type of test was taken, and whether it
was done within the required time frame.
Whilst the initial pilot is for Covid test results,
verification of approved vaccinations would
follow the same process on the digital health
passports.
The technology could find significant uptake
by employers and crew managers in the maritime
industry, which must move seafarers across
multiple borders in millions of crew changes
every year, and saving hundreds of hours of
administration time, according to Kristina Lynge
from technology services provider Riverr.
Riverr’s solution, what it calls a digital health
wallet, or eWallet, gives the user (ie seafarer) full
control over who has access to the data, which
can easily be shared with relevant third parties
with their consent.
It is integrated with Singapore border control.
When a seafarer goes through immigration in
Singapore, officials scan the QR code to verify
their health status.
Riverr is piloting the system with Zeaborn
Ship Management, where it is helping to facilitate
safe and transparent crew changes.
Another pilot is under way with Maersk
Drilling to assist its crew change process, Ms
Lynge says. •
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