CF Sharp Crewing Services has established a Covid-19 testing centre in Manila, the Philippines, to facilitate crew changes.
The company partnered with Safeguard DNA Diagnostics (SDDI) for the facility, which has has been set up at CF Sharp’s Family Centre in Manila.
SDDI is licensed to perform clinical laboratory testing and diagnosis procedures by the Department of Health. It is able to carry out the real-time polymerase chain reaction process (RT-PCR) on returning or departing seafarers in order to enable swift crew changes.
Roger Storey, managing director at CF Sharp Crew Management Singapore, said: “We identified testing as being an area where we could streamline the process and, since our Family Centre is not currently operating, we were able to set up a testing facility there.”
Storey added: “Speeding up the testing regime also saves ship operators money which is important since crew change costs around the globe have almost doubled as result of the pandemic.”
Source: HeavyLift
