Much of the crew-change crisis has focused on the difficulty of getting seafarers off vessels amid restrictions aimed at fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

But it has also been difficult for ships to get new crew members due to a reluctance among seafarers to sign on for work or local restrictions where they live, ship managers said.

Rajesh Divakaran, head of marine human resources at ship manager Thome Group, said: "During the height of the pandemic, some crew members have been reluctant to sign on to vessels due to a...