Hamburg, 2022 / 08 / 26

Leonhardt & Blumberg, Kiribati and Covid

The Covid pandemic had a profound impact on many people in 2020. And this is also true of 80 sailors from Kiribati stranded in Hamburg who couldn't return home because their government was no longer allowing entry – even for its own citizens.

From October 2020 and within the scope of rotational crew changes, Leonhardt & Blumberg collected the Kiribati crews from ships, assuming a stay of a few days in Germany and other locations. Putting crews up in other countries too became extremely difficult with Covid measures in place, however. Leonhardt & Blumberg therefore made sure that all employees affected – sometimes stranded in countries as far away as South America, Asia and Australia – could travel to Germany to be accommodated in their community – far from their homes, but safe at least. To this end, a disused youth hostel was put to use as part of a fantastic collaboration with the local authorities.

The sailors were housed in the youth hostel at Horner Rennbahn. We continued to pay our sailors a basic salary, but also dealt with the diplomatic approach to a solution. Specifically, their return home to their island and their families.

There has been a connection between Kiribati and Leonhardt & Blumberg for more than 50 years now. Since 1970, Leonhardt & Blumberg has been training people there in collaboration with other shipping companies for work on container ships.

When it became clear at the start of 2021 that the sailors would be able to return home at last, this involved meticulous planning. After all, the transfer took place via several countries. We supported our employees from Kiribati in procuring the required documentation. The first planeload of 150 sailors finally landed back home at Easter. Factoring in time spent at sea at the start of the Covid crisis, some of our crews hadn't seen their families for up to 24 months.