When the union shared the news with MPA Chief Executive Quah Ley Hoon that Singaporean seafarers, who were unable to secure shipboard employment, were exempted from the Government COVID-19 Recovery Grant, she quickly got her team to work with SMOU. Together, they formulated the Seafarers Relief Package (SRP), which was part of the MaritimeSG Together Package. The SRP has provided financial support to Singaporean seafarers in the maritime industry since the wake of the global COVID-19 outbreak.

As of 1 May 2020, MPA, together with SMOU, has provided up to $800 per month in financial assistance to each Singaporean seagoing officer who could not secure shipboard employment due to border control measures and crew change restrictions.

When COVID-19 started to spread, crew change became a real issue as counties began to turn down crew change due to the fear of imported cases. Singapore was no exception, and the nation tighten its border controls. Singapore, however, still did allow crew change to take place on a case-to-case basis, but it only served as a temporary fix of a bigger problem.

Sister Ley Hoon came together with the Tripartite Partners to form the Singapore Crew Change Workgroup to explore a watertight framework to facilitate crew change in a safe manner here at one of the busiest ports in the world. To further enhance the process of crew change, MPA took the lead and initiated the Singapore Shipping Tripartite Alliance Resilience (SG-STAR) Fund.

When the vaccines started to roll out, Sister Ley Hoon worked with the union through the Sea-Air Vaccination Exercise (SAVE) to ensure that Singapore was one of the first countries to prioritise vaccination for Maritime workers and local seafarers. The SG-STAR Fund Taskforce also worked with the Ministry of Transport to roll out SeaVax 2.0 to vaccinate international seafarers who faced problems attaining vaccination as they were sailing on board, ensuring that our local seafarers too have a safer working environment.

The entire crew change protocol and vaccination for local and international seafarers posed an immense challenge for MPA as it involved deep local and international collaboration. The projects faced huge resistance in the face of the pandemic, with stakeholders having to balance safety with the rise in infection numbers locally and various immigration challenges. Sister Ley Hoon’s grit and persistence to protect the interests of seafarers paid off. It kept the global supply chain moving, and it ensured that seafarers could continue to secure jobs and sail in a safe environment. She has proven to the tripartite partners how a worker-centric approach can result in a win for the country, businesses, and the workers.

When NTUC rolled out the Company Training Committee (CTC) initiative, SMOU approached the tripartite partners to see how all parties could incorporate the initiative in the Maritime sector. Sister Ley Hoon fully supported the idea and was on board when the union signed the memorandum of understanding on the formation of the Industry Collaboration Training Committee for the seafaring sector. Under Sister Ley Hoon’s leadership, MPA continues to be a strong supporter and funding partner of the union’s Tripartite Nautical Training Award (TNTA), and Tripartite Engineering Training Award (TETA) programmes – two place and train programme to build Singapore’s Core and to help train Singaporeans as seafaring deck and engine officers. MPA’s support has given Singaporeans a second opportunity to take up a maritime seafaring career.