Twenty-three Indian sailors, who were stuck at a Chinese port onboard an Indian bulkliner for over seven months, are on their way back.

In December last year, Mumbai Mirror reported the plight of 41 sailors stuck aboard two ships – MV Jag Anand and Swiss-Italian MV Anastasia – at the Port of Jingtang in northern China. The ships had arrived carrying coal from Australia in June and August 2020 respectively, but were denied permission by the Chinese authorities to off-load cargo thanks to a worsening trade war between Australia and China over a range of issues, including the alleged ‘Chinese’ origins of the Covid-19 virus, shipping sources said.

The 23 Indian sailors on their way home now and likely to land in India on Wednesday night belong to MV Jag Anand after the Chinese government allowed a change of its crew, even as negotiations over issues related to the eventual off-loading of the cargo, which will permit the liner to leave Chinese seawaters, continue. No such concession has yet been made for MV Anastasia, which has 16 Indian sailors on board, despite several representations to authorities in Beijing by the Indian government and international sailors’ welfare associations.

Sailors stuck on a ship in China for seven months return today

MV Jag Anand, following the Chinese approval for the crew’s replacement, left Jingtang for Japan a few days ago and reached the Japanese port of Chiba on Monday night, another source said. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the contingent travel restrictions, the Chinese had not allowed for the crew exchange to happen in their jurisdiction and the next option was Japan, sources said. “Since direct flights were not available between Japan and India, the 23-member crew is reaching India via the Middle East,” a spokesperson for The Great Eastern Shipping Co. Ltd, which owns MV Jag Anand, said.

The cargoliner had been leased to another firm for a year, which had taken the assignment to deliver coking coal to China, sources said. A new team has been sent to Japan by the shipping firm to replace the 23 crew members,

The crew members arriving home after the seven-month-long ordeal, which saw them spending the entire festive season away from their families, are from “across India, including Mumbai”, the spokesperson said, without divulging further details on their identities or the arrival details.

A source said Australia’s linking of Coronavirus’ origins to Wuhan was one of the main reasons why the Chinese authorities declined the two ships permission to off-load their cargo. “Australia had spoken about the Wuhan origins of Covid-19 virus and obviously that did not go well with the Chinese government. The straining of the ties impacted the economic relations between the two countries, impacting upon the delivery of Australian coking coal to Chinese buyers,” he said. MV Jag Anand, and dozens of other cargo liners carrying Australian coking coal got caught in the crosshairs of this dispute.

Sailors stuck on a ship in China for seven months return today

A few weeks ago, China placed restrictions on the import of Australian coking coal, a step that helped break the logjam. “The authorities of MV Jag Anand could tell the Chinese cargo receiver that now since there is an official restriction on supply of Australian coking coal, there is no question of off-loading the cargo at Jingtang. And therefore, the Chinese receiver was told that the MV Jag Anand’s crew must be allowed to leave, while a new team takes their place aboard the liner,” the source said.

The Port of Jingtang is an artificial deep-water international seaport on the coast of Tangshan Municipality, Hebei, northern China. Hebei is in the midst of extreme cold wave currently, with the temperature plunging to -9 degree Celsius at times. Jingtang is part of the Tangshan port complex, which comprises Jingtang, Caofedian and Fengnan ports. Together, they constitute the 9th largest port in China.

While the news of MV Jag Anand’s crew returning home has given heart to the Indian crew of M V Anastasia, there is no immediate respite in sight for them. “Our shipping firm’s authorities told us that our cargo’s Chinese receiver has not allowed for the crew’s replacement, which has saddened us immensely. There is no hope currently of any resolution in sight. All of us are desperate and anxious to return to our homes,” MV Anastasia’s Navigation Officer Gaurav Singh, 29, said.

Over the last few months, Singh said, the crew members’ morale has been very low. A crew member had even “slashed” his wrist, unable to deal with his family’s anguish messages. “A few days ago, our company arranged for us to be assessed by a British psychologist, worried as they are about our well-being. The psychologist said we are dealing with issues related to anxiety and depression,” Singh, whose father, a retired Indian Air Force officer, stays in Pune, said.

Morale is not the only casualty. Singh said his marriage, which was scheduled in October 2020, got “cancelled.” “I knew the girl for two years but for how long can her family wait for my return?,” he asked. Singh said, “Many of us have been on sea for up to 20 months now and we just can’t endure this floating prison anymore.”