WEB DESK
23 Indian sailors onboard Indian ship M. V. Jag Anand which has been stuck at Chinese port of Jingtang since June last year, have finally got respite as the ship is all set to sail to Chiba, Japan for a crew change.
Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has said that Indian sailors stuck in China are coming back home on 14th January. In a tweet, he said, this could only happen due to strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr Mandaviya appreciated the humanitarian approach of the Great Eastern Shipping Company towards the seafarers and standing by them in this crucial time.
Given the grave humanitarian situation, Indian Ambassador in China Vikram Misri had personally taken up this issue with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister.
In the new year, 23 crew members stuck on Indian ship Jag Anand at Chinese port of Jingtang have finally got good news. After prolonged talks between Indian and Chinese sides, the ship will finally sail to Japan shortly for crew change. After being onboard for around a year since it started the voyage from Australia laden with Australian coal, the crew members will be finally relieved from the ship. It will reach Chiba, japan around 14th January and then the crew can fly back to India. The shipping company said that as of now, ship will come back to Chinese port of Jingtang with a new team of crew members boarding the ship in Japan, unless there are any fresh instructions from the owners of the cargo.
Other ship MV Anastasia with Indian crew is exploring the possibility of a crew change at its current point of anchorage in Caofeidian. Indian Embassy has written to Chinese authorities for approval of the same.
Chinese side said that while crew change is allowed at other ports following certain quarantine conditions, it is not allowed at Jingtang port even with Quarantine. They conveyed to Indian Embassy in late November 2020 that while crew change from Jingtang port would not be feasible, the shipping company may apply for crew rotation from Tianjin port, and that the local authorities would examine after receiving requests for the same. The concerned shipping companies have been asked to make crew change applications expeditiously.