Technical managers representing 14% of the world’s commercial fleet have proposed a specific set of measures to help avert a potential collapse of seaborne trade amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“The most critical issue is the extension of the special survey and the associated dry-docking beyond the three months that are foreseen by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)”, the executives said in a letter addressed on 30 March to the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS).