What does work on a rotation basis mean?
Every day, thousands of workers are travelling to and from offshore facilities. Usually, they are working on a rotation basis, and they work and live several consecutive days onsite, in the resources, marine and construction sectors around the world. This includes for example onshore/offshore Oil & Gas, remote mining sites and the seafarers supporting the global logistics supply chain.
Rotation work is typically a work schedule known as a “roster”. The pattern can vary or be consistent with many variations such as 4 weeks on (working) and 2 weeks off (on leave), or seafarers who rotate after several months at sea. The work and lifestyle are unique and usually well paid but comes at a physical and mental cost.
The Lifestyle it brings
This type of lifestyle includes being away from home, having long airline commutes, limited accommodation, harsh hot or cold environment and long workdays, to name a few. However, the positives may be high compensation, several months in a row on leave, ample travel to see the world and paid food and accommodation.
As we read over and over, the commercial pipeline that brings $1 trillion worth of supplies from Asia to the US is clogged. In November 2021, there were seventy-one freighters anchored or drifting as they were waiting to be unloaded, just at the port of Los Angeles. Globally, there are over 50,000 vessels with 1.6 million crew members.
Challenges: part of the daily life of an offshore rotational worker
Labor unions and seafarers had to accept the crew change limitation due to COVID-19. In this unique scenario, the ship owners had no other solution than extending contracts beyond Maritime Labor Convention rules. In addition to that, it is to be considered that there is a growing shortage of seafarers per the International Chamber of Shipping.
Overall, crew change has been challenging, as most countries are different. This entails the travel restrictions, quarantine rules, documentation and, not to forget, multiple COVID-19 tests. This is the new norm for Workforce Logistics organizations to always be up-to-date on the changing environment.
Governments will continue to play a major role to ensure seafarers can travel to and from home in the safest manner possible. This also includes access to vaccination programs which can relieve pressure on stakeholder nations like India, the Philippines and others with vaccine shortages.
Nomadis provides an Onshore / Offshore Workforce Logistics software solution that interfaces with scheduled airlines and charter operations, and also embed ground transportation and accommodation in a consolidated platform. Our goal is to enhance work/life balance with efficient, safe and carefree travel planning.