A collective effort to make it easier for seafarers to be vaccinated at the Port of Montreal

The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) team will participate in the collective effort to make it easier for seafarers of all nationalities who call at the Port of Montreal to be vaccinated, an initiative led by the Mariners' House of Montreal and the National Seafarers’ Welfare Board. In recent weeks, more than 100 seafarers have been vaccinated through this collaborative effort.

This initiative recently received strong support from the city’s public health department. Santé publique de Montréal is now offering international seafarers the opportunity to be vaccinated at walk-in clinics at the Olympic Stadium and Palais des Congrès. Mariners' House of Montreal coordinates requests from vessels and provides transportation to and from the vessel when circumstances allow. When a request for vaccination is made for an entire crew, it is also possible to send nursing staff on board vessels calling at Montreal.

This practical initiative to help fight the pandemic and improve mariners’ well-being is free of charge and available to all crews calling at the Port of Montreal. Interested agents and ship masters are invited to contact Mariners' House of Montreal to learn more about the terms and conditions, and to coordinate the logistics.

The project is in addition to the efforts deployed by the MPA in terms of vaccination, as a drop-in centre was set up at the Grand Quai of the Port of Montreal for several months for people facing homelessness, where the vaccine was offered among other services.