During the COVID-19 pandemic the UK Government designated seafarers as keyworkers. This article explores their experiences in an industry operating under international legislation designed to ensure and maintain their employment and working conditions. Three hundred and fifty-two British seafarers completed an online questionnaire. The findings revealed two key themes: the erosion of the terms and conditions of those who work at sea, and the differing experiences of those who were precariously employed on single voyage contracts in comparison to those in permanent employment. In contrast with precariously employed individuals, more seafarers with permanent contracts were joining the vessel as normal and fewer were not being paid having been unable to join a ship as scheduled. In a similar vein, fewer permanently employed seafarers were adversely financially impacted during the pandemic. The article concludes that those with the weakest employment relationships have experienced the greatest challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic–a scenario which was possible as a result of the limited enforcement of the regulatory framework intended to protect those who work at sea.

在 COVID-19 大流行期间，英国政府指定海员为关键工人。本文探讨了他们在一个根据旨在确保和维持其就业和工作条件的国际立法运作的行业中的经验。352 名英国海员完成了在线问卷调查。调查结果揭示了两个关键主题：海上工作人员的条款和条件受到侵蚀，以及与长期就业人员相比，单次航行合同不稳定就业人员的不同经历。与不稳定就业的个人相比，更多的拥有永久合同的海员正常上船，而由于无法如期上船而没有得到报酬的海员更少。与此相类似，在大流行期间，更少的永久就业海员受到了不利的经济影响。文章得出结论，由于 COVID-19 大流行，雇佣关系最薄弱的人经历了最大的挑战——这种情况可能是由于旨在保护海上工作人员的监管框架执行有限而导致的。