Stranded Indian seafarers set to return

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 4

The 18 Indian sailors of a cargo ship stranded outside a Chinese port for over six months have been allowed to leave following sustained efforts by the Indian embassy in Beijing, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said at a virtual media briefing on Thursday.

The Chinese Central authorities have conveyed to the local authorities as well as the port authorities to permit a crew change. This information has also been shared with the local shipping company which has submitted a request to the authorities and is working out the modalities.

“We hope that this is done at the earliest,” said Srivastava.

The ship – MV Anastasia – carrying Australian coal has been on anchorage near Caofeidian port in northern China since September 20, waiting to discharge its cargo.

Earlier, another ship Jag Anand with 23 Indian sailors, after a six-month-long wait to unload its Australian coal cargo, had to travel to a Japanese port to change the stranded crew following refusal by Chinese officials citing Covid protocols.

The issue of the stranded ship was raised at the recent briefing of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and its spokesperson Wang Wenbin had said Chinese officials were in close contact with the Indian side and were replying timely to their requests and providing practical suggestions of a crew change.

Great Eastern Shipping, the owners of another stranded ship MV Jag Anand, undertook a crew change in Chiba, Japan, where the ship disembarked 23 crew members and took on their replacements. The disembarking crew was flown back to their home towns in India from Tokyo.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.