SINGAPORE — At noon on Friday (May 1), ships in the Port of Singapore sounded their horns as a show of support for the seafarers who have helped to keep supply chains open and facilitate maritime trade amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

Video footage of this was shared by Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min on Facebook. 

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union, the Singapore Organisation of Seamen and the Singapore Shipping Association had called for ships to sound their horns for 15 seconds on Friday. 

But the horns went on for much longer, noted Mr Lam in his Facebook post.

In a joint statement on Thursday, the tripartite partners said Labour Day is an occasion to acknowledge the valuable contributions of its workers and to reaffirm the commitment of labour movement leaders, employers and the Government to safeguard the interest of workers.

Said MPA’s chief executive Quah Ley Hoon: “In these challenging times, we wish to show our appreciation to maritime personnel, especially seafarers, and stand in solidarity to ensure that global trade and supply lines stay resilient to support pandemic response around the world.”

The International Chamber of Shipping and the International Transport Workers Federation have also called upon other countries to recognise seafarers’ contributions during the current pandemic.