The government of the United Arab Emirates has given permission for ports to begin carrying out crew changes, provided they adhere to newly drafted protocols.

The move is in contrast to many Asian countries backtracking on allowing crew changes because of regional spikes in Covid-19 cases.

While crew changes have been possible in Dubai for some time, the measures now make it possible to carry out crew changes in other ports such as Fujairah, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Khorfakkan.