ITF Calls on Governments to Resolve Standoff in China for Crew Welfare

(file photo)

BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE 11-17-2020 

 

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) joined the organizations calling for a resolution to the standoff that has left 41 Indian seafarers, along with additional seafarers from other nations, for months waiting off a Chinese port. The union is urging the governments of China, India, and Australia to collaborate to end the stalemate around the berthing of the coal-carrying vessels in Chinese ports.

A growing trade dispute between Australia and China started in June with China refusing the shipments of coal into its ports and now reported to be expanding to timber and possibly other imports. This has left more than 20 vessels loaded with coal waiting outside the Chinese ports, but two Indian vessels, in particular, have become the symbol of dispute.

Last week, the Indian seafarers’ union went public over the dispute calling for a flood of emails to the International Maritime Organization to highlight the fate of members trapped at sea for up to 20 months. The Jag Anand with a crew of 23 has been waiting since June and the Anastasia with a crew of 18 has been outside the port since August.

Abdulgani Y. Serang, General Secretary of the National Union of Seafarers of India, the ITF Seafarers’ Section Committee Asia-Pacific Vice Chair and an ITF Executive Board member, said that his union and the ITF have repeatedly raised the issue with the company and official channels through the International Maritime Organization in recent months.

“We have at hand a humanitarian crisis on board where the entire crew is fatigued and requires urgent relief. They are mentally and physically exhausted due to their prolonged time on board,” said Serang. According to the union, the ships are the innocent parties caught between the two nations.

The ITF is also using the situation to yet again call attention to the issue of crew changes and the importance of governments to facilitate crew movements for the welfare of the individuals. The crew of the Jag Anand has been aboard between 13 and 20 months. 

“All governments – be it flag States, port States, or the seafarers’ home countries – need to lift their game to make it easier to perform needed crew changes of this tired and fatigued workforce,” said ITF Seafarers’ and Inland Navigation Section Coordinator, Fabrizio Barcellona. “It shouldn’t have to take a geopolitical dispute for Ministers to realize that there is a major humanitarian crisis on their shores. Having over-contract crew anywhere in the world is unacceptable and a recipe for human and environmental disaster,” concluded Barcellona.

The union representatives report that neighboring countries have offered to buy the coal to help resolve the situation. “We suggested that if crew change is not possible, then at least the cargo could be discharged so the ship can move on and sign off the crew at the next convenient port,” said Serang.

For its part, China continues to reiterate that the vessels are free to depart. It says they have not been detained by the Chinese authorities.

The ITF said whatever the reason for the stalemate, the time has come for the governments to put aside their disputes and focus on supporting these seafarers caught in the situation by no fault of their own.

 

Photos: Italian Frigate Rescues Injured Crewmember After Pirate Attack

Helicopter aircrew from the frigate Martinengo prepares to medevac an injured crewmember from the Zhen Hua 7 (Marina Militare)

BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE 11-16-2020 08:51:19

 

On Saturday, after the pirate attack on the heavy lift ship Zhen Hua 7 in the Gulf of Guinea, the Italian Navy frigate Federico Martinengo came to the vessel's assistance and rescued an injured crewmember.

According to security consultancy Dryad Global, Zhen Hua 7 was boarded by pirates on Friday at a position about 80 nm to the northeast of the island of Sao Tome. 14 out of her 27 crewmembers were kidnapped, all of them Chinese nationals. 

After the attack, the Martinengo made way towards the vessel and established communications. The Zhen Hua 7's crew reported that the pirates had departed with the abductees and that one crewmember was injured and in need of assistance. The victim had been shot in the leg.  

Images courtesy Marina Militare

A boarding team from the Martinengo transferred over in a RIB to sweep the ship and ensure its safety. A medical team followed suit and helped to stabilize the victim for transport. The frigate's helicopter transferred him safely to Sao Tome for further treatment. 

At the time of the attack, the Zhen Hua 7 was adrift, in laden condition with the 8,000 dwt crane barge Sea-Commander on her main deck. She has since entered port at Luba, Equatorial Guinea, according to tracking from maritime data provider Pole Star. 

Tracking courtesy Pole Star

 Sea Shepherd's Law Enforcement Campaign Secures Arrests

Gambian Navy personnel board and inspect a trawler during a patrol aboard the Sea Shepherd vessel Sam Simon (Sea Shepherd Global)

BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE 11-18-2020 06:41:20

 

Environmental activist group Sea Shepherd is seeing success in its new law enforcement role off the coast of West Africa. In partnership with national governments, Sea Shepherd is conducting fishery patrol missions and delivering government boarding teams to suspect fishing vessels for inspections at sea - and securing arrests. 

On November 4, Gambian law enforcement and military personnel aboard the Sea Shepherd vessel Sam Simon raided three trawlers that they found fishing inside protected waters reserved for artisanal fishermen. 

The fishing trawlers Gorde 105, Gorde 106 and Gorde 107 were boarded, arrested and escorted to the Gambian port of Banjul. Two of the trawlers, Gorde 105 and Gorde 107, were also "double-bagging" their net - the act of fishing with one net inside of another one - so as to get around minimum mesh size requirements, another offense under Gambian fisheries regulations. Three days later, the team also arrested the fishing vessel Xing Xi Wang 1 for fishing with the wrong mesh size.  

The Gambia has created a nine-nautical mile Special Management Area to conserve a segment of the nation's sardinella fishery for artisanal fishermen. However, industrial trawlers routinely come close to the shoreline, depleting the fishery and running over artisanal fishermen's nets, according to Sea Shepherd.

"At-sea patrols are needed to ensure compliance as well as deterring industrial trawlers from entering protected areas," said Mar Casariego, the captain of the Sam Simon. 

Sea Shepherd's patrol ship Bob Barker (a former whaling vessel) recently helped Beninese authorities carry out a similar bust, spotting an unauthorized fishing vessel in a reserved artisanal fishing area and tracking it back to port for interdiction and arrest. 

Since 2016, Sea Shepherd has been working with the governments of Gabon, Liberia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Tanzania, Benin, Namibia and The Gambia on joint fisheries enforcement patrols. To date, these partnerships have resulted in the arrest of nearly 60 vessels for IUU fishing and other violations. 

Sea Shepherd Vessel Approached as Pirates Grow More Brazen

Bob Barker - file photo courtesy of Sea Shepherd

BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE 11-10-2020 08:01:54

 

Security experts recently warned that it was likely that there would be an increase in sea piracy activity in the Gulf of Guinea as the seasonal weather improved in the region. Since that warning, there have been five reports and while the ships have escaped incident crews are being warned to remain on high alert because of the high level of danger in the region.

Maritime security company Dryad Global warned that it believes two or more groups are active, especially in the area near Cotonou, Benin, but that the situation is continuing to evolve as the perpetrators react to opportunities and efforts to increase security. Both the Beninese and Nigerian navies are operating on high alert. According to Dryad, these groups appear intent on kidnapping seafarers that they can hold for ransom.

Last weekend, an Italian Navy frigate came to the rescue of the product tanker Torm Alexandra as it was being approached by a small boat in the Gulf of Guinea. Hours later, another tanker also reported an approach by a boat with seven armed pirates. In this instance, armed security guards aboard the vessel were successful in chasing away the pirates before they could attempt to board the tanker.

Yesterday, the Marshall Island flagged M/T La Boheme also reported that it was approached by two skiffs. The crew mustered in the vessel’s citadel while the master was successful in evading the boarding through a series of maneuvers. Praesidium International offered some additional details on the defense saying that the crew fired distress flares at the two speed boats helping to chase them away after they came within 40 meters of the tanker.

“Whilst the pirates retain both the capability and intent to target larger vessels, it is highly likely that smaller vessels presenting more opportune targets will become more desirable as time goes on and the risk to the perpetrators increases,” said Dryad in its security alert.

There is evidence that the attacks are becoming more brazen and less discriminate in the region as well. In the same area, hours before the tanker La Boheme was approached, Sea Shepherd, the international ocean conservancy movement active against illegal fishing had one of its vessels targeted. The 5,000 gross ton Bob Baker, a retired Norwegian whaler that carries a crew of up to 36, was approached approximately 100 nautical miles from Cotonou. 

According to Dryad, seven or eight armed individuals approached the 170-foot vessel coming within one nautical mile of the Bob Barker. The Barker has a speed of up to 15 knots and was carrying armed guards that fired warning shots. They were successful in chasing away the skiff.

Praesidium reports that in at least one instance a tanker was running in “stealth mode,” meaning that it had turned off its transmitting equipment but still was the target of an attack. Praesidium cites this instance to highlight that the technique is not necessarily effective as the attacks appear opportunistic. Authorities in the region have also been seeking to crackdown on vessels using this technique. Last month, it was feared that a vessel had been attacked after its signal disappeared only for it later to be discovered that the captain had purposely disabled his AIS signal.

The increased number of approaches has led to calls to increase patrols in the region while the security services continue to warn of the dangers.

IMO Approves Controversial Draft Amendment on CO2 Ranking System

SELF REGULATION WITH NO PENALTIES

BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE 11-18-2020

 

The IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee has approved a draft amendment to MARPOL that would assign a rating to existing ships based on their operational carbon emissions and their progress towards emissions reduction. Ships with a low rating would be required to submit an improvement plan, but there are no penalties for noncompliance. 

According to IMO, the the draft amendment would require ships of 5,000 gt or more (which are already required to keep track of their carbon emissions) to calculate an "annual operational carbon intensity indicator," or CII. The CII determines how much the ship would need to improve its carbon intensity to achieve each of five rating levels, A, B, C, D or E ("major superior, minor superior, moderate, minor inferior, or inferior," respectively). Any ship operating three years continuously at level D or one year at level E would have to file an improvement plan showing how they can attain level C. The performance level would be recorded in the ship’s Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP). 

There would be no penalties for noncompliance, and a vessel could continue to operate at level D or E without legal interference. However, port states and other stakeholders are encouraged to give incentives to vessels that voluntarily attain high ratings.

The draft amendments also include new measures for improving the technical efficiency of existing ships, in a manner comparable to the energy efficiency design index (EEDI) for newbuilds. 

Intercargo and the International Chamber of Shipping released statements of support for the measures in advance of MEPC 75. The industry associations for European shipbuilders and suppliers, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the NGO Transport & Environment all registered opposition (though their rationales and proposed remedies varied).  

“The IMO has given the go-ahead to a decade of rising greenhouse gas emissions from ships. Europe must now take responsibility and accelerate implementation of the Green Deal. The EU should require ships to pay for their pollution in its carbon market, and mandate the use of alternative green fuels and energy saving technologies," said Faïg Abbasov, shipping director at NGO Transport & Environment, in a statement Wednesday. 

As with other IMO convention amendments, the draft will have to be approved a second time at a future MEPC to enter into force. 

Structural challenges for CO2 reduction

Highlighting IMO's challenges in reducing emissions from shipping, the Swedish maritime data company Marine Benchmark has released a new study on the global fleet's composition and its likely effects over the span of the next decade. Though carbon intensity has been reduced in recent years through slow steaming and more efficient vessel designs, total CO2 emissions have risen - and they will not be coming down anytime soon, according to the consultancy. 

"The outright growth in international maritime CO2 emissions over the past decade, roughly 18 percent in total, will make it more difficult for the IMO to achieve its 2050 goal of halving international shipping CO2 emissions relative to 2008 levels," found Marine Benchmark. 

Demand is down in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and so are emissions, but previous trading patterns are expected to resume once effective vaccines are approved and distributed. That trade rebound will be shipped aboard an older fleet, as the newbuilding orderbook is at a multi-decade low and scrapping has fallen in parallel. Shipowners face considerable uncertainty about the future of the global economy and future regulatory requirements, creating an impediment to fleet renewal. That means fewer high-efficiency newbuilds and fewer new LNG-powered vessels entering service. 

"We’re going to see older and older vessels on the water and the impact of the marginal gains already made from running ships more efficiently have already been felt. To bring down absolute emissions without impacting global trade, scalable low carbon fuels and new ships and engines to run them are needed," said Alastair Stevenson, the head of digital analysis at Marine Benchmark. "However, many shipping investors are sitting on their hands waiting for technological breakthroughs and regulatory certainty. The implications are that the shipping industry cannot deliver an absolute reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030."

How China's Belt and Road Could Help or Hurt the Oceans

The Chinese-built and -operated port of Hambantota, Sri Lanka, one of the most controversial Belt and Road projects (file image)

BY MISCHA TURSCHWELL, RYAN M. PEARSON, AND CHRISTOPHER BROWN 11-18-2020 

 

China’s signature foreign policy, the Belt and Road initiative, has garnered much attention and controversy. Many have voiced fears about how the huge infrastructure project might expand China’s military and political influence across the world. But the environmental damage potentially wrought by the project has received scant attention.

The policy aims to connect China with Europe, East Africa and the rest of Asia, via a massive network of land and maritime routes. It includes building a series of deepwater ports, dubbed a “string of pearls”, to create secure and efficient sea transport.

All up, the cost of investments associated with the project have been estimated at as much as $8 trillion. But what about the environmental cost?

Coastal development typically damages habitats and species on land and in the sea. So the Belt and Road plan may irreversibly damage the world’s oceans – but it also offers a chance to better protect them.

Controversial deals

China’s President Xi Jinping announced the Belt and Road initiative in 2013. Since then, China has already helped build and operate at least 42 ports in 34 countries, including in Greece, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. As of October this year, 138 countries had signed onto the plan.

The Victorian government joined in 2018, in a move that stirred political controversy. Those tensions have heightened in recent weeks, as the federal government’s relationship with China deteriorates. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews recently reiterated his commitment to the deal, saying: “I think a strong relationship and a strong partnership with China is very, very important.”

However, political leaders signing up to the Belt and Road plan must also consider the potential environmental consequences of the project.

Bigger ports and more ships

As well as ports, the Belt and Road plan involves roads, rail lines, dams, airfields, pipelines, cargo centres and telecommunications systems. Our research has focused specifically on the planned port development and expansion, and increased shipping traffic. We examined how it would affect coastal habitats (such as seagrass, mangroves, and saltmarsh), coral reefs and threatened marine species.

Port construction can impact species and habitats in several ways. For example, developing a site often requires clearing mangroves and other coastal habitats. This can harm animals and release carbon stored by these productive ecosystems, accelerating climate change. Clearing coastal vegetation can also increase run-off of pollution from land into coastal waters.

Ongoing dredging to maintain shipping channels stirs up sediment from the seafloor. This sediment smothers sensitive habitats such as seagrass and coral and damages wildlife, including fishery species on which many coastal communities depend.

A rise in shipping traffic associated with trade expansion increases the risk to animals being directly struck by vessels. More ships also means a greater risk of shipping accidents, such as the oil spill in Mauritius in July this year.

Ocean habitat destroyed

Our spatial analysis found construction of new ports, and expansion of existing ports, could lead to a loss of coastal marine habitat equivalent in size to 69,500 football fields.

These impacts were proportionally highest in small countries with relatively small coastal areas - places such as Singapore, Togo, Djibouti and Malta - where a considerable share of coastal marine habitat could be degraded or destroyed.

Habitat loss is particularly concerning for small nations where local livelihoods depend on coastal habitats. For example, mangroves, coral reefs, and seagrass protect coasts from storm surges and sea-level rise, and provide nursery habitat for fish and other marine species.

Our analysis also found more than 400 threatened species, including mammals, could be affected by port infrastructure. More than 200 of these are at risk from an increase in shipping traffic and noise pollution from ships. This sound can travel many kilometers and affect the mating, nursing and feeding of species such as dolphins, manatees and whales.

But there are opportunities, too

Despite these environmental concerns, the Belt and Road initiative also offers an opportunity to improve biodiversity conservation, and progress towards environmental targets such as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

For example, China could implement a broad, consistent environmental framework that ensures individual infrastructure projects are held to the same high standards.

In Australia, legislation helps prevent damage to wildlife from port activities. For example, go-slow zones minimize the likelihood of vessels striking iconic wildlife such as turtles and dugongs. Similarly, protocols for the transport, handling, and export of mineral concentrates and other potentially hazardous materials minimize the risk of pollutants entering waterways.

The Belt and Road initiative should require similar environmental protections across all its partner countries, and provide funding to ensure they are enacted.

China has recently sought to boost its environment credentials on the world stage – such as by adopting a target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2060. The global nature of the Belt and Road initiative means China is in a unique position: it can cause widespread damage, or become an international leader on environmental protection.

Mischa Turschwell and Ryan M. Pearson are research fellows at Griffith University, where Christopher Brown serves as a senior lecturer. 

This article appears courtesy of The Conversation and may be found in its original form here.

Offshore Shipyard Deploys Spot the Robotic Dog to Monitor Equipment

File image courtesy Boston Dynamics

BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE 11-17-2020 

Aker Solutions' Kvaerner shipyard has a new assistant to keep track of its heavy equipment around the yard. Working with industrial data company Cognite, Kvaerner brought in a high tech solution - Spot, the familiar four-legged robot built by Boston Dynamics.

As fork trucks, yard cranes, trailers, generators and other assets get shuffled around a shipyard on a daily basis, just finding out where they are can eat up valuable time. "Today, I have a guy who knows where all the lifts are. If you want a lift, you call him, and he can tell you where a free one is. If he's sick, you have a problem," says Kent Heine Spissoy, the head of assembly and logistics and Kvaerner.

The Cognite / Boston Dynamics solution is simple. Spot can walk around in industrial environments without too much difficulty, taking obstacles like stairways and rough surfaces in stride. Cognite fitted a Spot with a 360-degree camera, which takes imagery wherever it goes, and its software can visually "recognize" large coded markers pasted onto the side of each piece of equipment that the yard wants to identify. All that remains to keep track of the gear is to have Spot walk around the facility on a regular basis, recording as it goes. In addition to equipment tracking, employees will have access to the 360-degree imaging for a record of what was happening and where at any given time.

Spot has also been tested on oil rigs, including in an imaging and digital measurement application aboard BP's Mad Dog facility in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. When fitted with a LIDAR sensor and 360-degree camera, the unit can survey and fully measure a segment of the rig remotely, without requiring an engineer to do a site visit to perform the same task. This streamlines the planning process for refits, maintenance and overhauls. Spot can also be used in patrol applications to watch and listen for abnormalities; if fitted with hyperspectral imaging equipment, it can "see" gas leaks that are invisible to the human eye.

The four-legged mobility that gives Spot its utility in industrial environments also makes it suitable for a variety of other rough-service applications, including construction, manufacturing, law enforcement, defense, and (perhaps unexpectedly) agriculture - doing the kind of "dull, dirty or dangerous" jobs that humans prefer not to do.

U.N. report says global shipping trade hurting in COVID-19 era

Containers are off-loaded from cargo ships at the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif. Thursday's report said maritime trade should rebound next year, if the global economy recovers from the impact of COVID-19. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo

Nov. 12 (UPI) -- A United Nations report on Thursday said the COVID-19 pandemic has put the global shipping trade in a grim position, with further dwindling revenues and interruptions in key supply chains possible if the crisis isn't controlled in the near future.

The U.N. Conference on Trade and Development said in its annual report, "Review of Maritime Transport 2020," that its forecast for maritime trade growth this year has been cut to 4.1%.

The assessment emphasized that the shipping trade had already been "pretty depressed" before the pandemic arrived.

"The sector is at a pivotal moment facing not only immediate concerns resulting from the pandemic but also longer-term considerations," the UNCTAD said, "ranging from shifts in supply-chain design and globalization patterns to changes in consumption and spending habits."

The agency added that the pandemic is also negatively influencing "global sustainability and low-carbon agenda."

"[COVID-19] has upended the landscape for maritime transport and trade and significantly affected growth prospects," the agency added. "The volume of international maritime trade [will] fall by 4.1% in 2020. Amid supply-chain disruptions, demand contractions and global economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the global economy was severely affected by a twin supply and demand shock.

"These trends unfolded against the backdrop of an already weaker 2019 that saw international maritime trade lose further momentum."

UNCTAD said the shipping sector has been forced to make sacrifices amid weaker global oil demand and tariff wars between the United States, China and the European Union.

"All in all, maritime transport and logistics kept essential goods and trade flows moving," said Shamika Sirimanne, UNCTAD Division on Technology and Logistics director. "Ships moved, ports kept open. So we should be thankful to the maritime sector that people still could buy food and medicine and essential goods in our neighborhood shops, even though we were in a very strict lockdown."

UNCTAD said it expects maritime trade to return to a positive territory in 2021 and grow by almost 5% -- but only if there is a minimum level of global economic recovery.

Thursday's report recommends the shipping industry prepare for long-term changes ushered in by the coronavirus crisis, as well as environmental concerns that have endured for years.

"The momentum of current efforts to address carbon emissions from shipping and the ongoing energy transition away from fossil fuels should be maintained," Sirimanne said.

Chinese province's dog euthanasia policy draws condemnation



Chinese officials in Yunnan Province have threatened to euthanize dogs under new guidelines that are being reviewed. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo

Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Chinese authorities in Yunnan Province are rethinking draconian penalties against dog owners as Chinese commenters say the measures are unfair.

Officials of Weixin County are under fire for threatening to euthanize dogs if owners violate strict rules and take them out for walks on a regular basis, China News Service reported Wednesday.

The county in Yunnan first issued the directive on Friday, requiring pet owners to keep their dogs at home at all times. The campaign was promoting "civilized" dog ownership, the BBC reported.

Fines were also ordered for repeat offenders. People who are apprehended the first time would be issued a warning, and then fined between $7 and$30 if they are caught a second time, the county has said.

Penalties for the third violation, ranging from pet confiscation to euthanasia, have riled commenters on Chinese social media, according to The Guardian.

Citizens also are airing their grievances to local media.

"If all forms of dog walking are prohibited in the urban area, isn't that directly equivalent to declaring a ban on dog keeping?" a Weixin resident asked.

"The dogs of the whole county shouldn't have to bear the consequences of the misbehavior of a few dog owners."

Public uproar over policies that allow for the killing of dogs has forced Weixin County to reconsider the rules. The county met over the weekend with "multiple departments" to ensure guidelines meet "urban management standards," according to China News Service.

Cities across China have guidelines for pets and their owners. In 2018, Hangzhou prohibited dog walking during daytime and banned large breeds.

Shanghai, Qingdao and Chengdu have one-dog policies, according to the BBC. In Huangshi, Hubei Province, dogs that exceed 18 inches are not allowed.

U.S. election prompts Palestinian Authority to resume relations with Israel

Protesters hold posters of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a July demonstration against Israel's West Bank annexation plans. File Photo by Ismael Mohamad/UPI | License Photo


Nov. 17 (UPI) -- The Palestinian Authority announced Tuesday it will resume its relationship with Israel that has been stalled since May over Israel's plans to annex the West Bank.

A Palestinian Authority spokesman said that the Palestinian Authority had been waiting for a clear position from President-elect Joe Biden to act, Haaretz reported.

The spokesman added that leadership expects Biden to be different than the Trump administration and recognize international community agreements.

U.S.-Palestinian relations were expected to improve if Biden won the election. President Donald Trump has supported the West Bank annexation plan, calling it part of a "deal of the century," for the Middle East, along with recent Arab-Israel normalization, while Biden has opposed the unilateral Israeli action.

The New York Times reported that while the Arab-Israel normalization agreement suspended annexation, Palestinians had been waiting to assure the annexation would not be carried out, and the election of Biden gave them the assurance they needed.

An Israeli defense official also said the election of Biden as U.S. president facilitated the agreement.

Palestinian Authority minister Hussein al-Sheikh announced the resumed relationship on Twitter, saying the "relationship with #Israel will return to how it was."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ended cooperation in a security agreement with Israel and the United States in May over plans to annex parts of the West Bank, and also cut civilian ties between the countries, exacerbating economic issues such as work permits and trade amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had supported the annexation of territory on the occupied West Bank, which Palestinians have counted on for a future state.

THIRD WORLD USA

Front-line health workers ask Biden for PPE, more testing, economic support

Employees picket outside the Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Calif., on May 19. Front-line COVID-19 workers told President-elect Joe Biden Wednesday they need better protections and resources to fight the pandemic. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

Nov. 18 (UPI) -- President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday held a virtual roundtable with front-line healthcare workers, who say they need more help from the government to fight COVID-19.

The discussion came after the United States added another 162,000 COVID-19 cases and 1,700 deaths Tuesday -- the highest one-day death toll since May.


Participants at the roundtable called for more personal protective equipment, widespread testing, contract tracing and better economic support for Americans so they don't fear they'll lose income if they need to quarantine at home.

Mary Turner, an intensive care unit nurse and president of the Minnesota Nurses Association, told Biden that hospitals across the country are "overflowing" with coronavirus patients and they're not prepared.

"We know the right way to battle this virus but our employers and our government are not supporting us," she said. "We're trying to care for our patients despite limited supplies [and] limited staff."

Turner said nurses at her hospital are reusing single-use N95 respirators two times because there isn't enough personal protective equipment. She said she's heard there are nurses at other hospitals reusing respirators as many as 10 times, until they fall off their faces.

"We can't stay safe when we're using these kinds of standards," she said. "We need to protect our front-line workers so we can take care of you."

Earlier this month, Biden announced that his new COVID-19 advisory task force is drawn from the ranks of public health experts and scientists.

The 13-member task force (A COVEN) will be co-chaired by former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler and Marcella Nunez-Smith, a public health expert at the Yale School of Medicine.

Other members are: Dr. Zeke Emanuel, Dr. Luciana Borio, Dr. Rick Bright, Dr. Atul Gawande, Dr. Celine Gounder, Dr. Julie Morita, Dr. Michael Osterholm, Dr. Robert Rodriguez, Dr. Eric Goosby and global health expert Loyce Pace.

Twelve of the advisory team members are medical doctors, signaling Biden's intention to follow through on promises to use a "science-based" approach to taming the coronavirus.

The health care workers on the frontlines of this pandemic are true heroes. Tune in as we thank them for their work and discuss how a Biden-Harris administration will support them. https://t.co/RpBLnot7Be— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 18, 2020