HYDERABAD: Two seafarers of 25-member Indian crew have been allowed to leave the container ship ‘Ever Given’ by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA). The authorities granted permission based on the recommendation of the ship owner who reportedly informed that the two seafarers had some personal emergency back home.
SCA chairman Osama Rabie said the two seafarers were permitted to disembark and return home to India. Rabie, however, did not give out the names of the seafarers.
“I can confirm on behalf of BSM that the SCA has approved our request to allow two of our crew members to return home on compassionate grounds. We are making arrangements for the two crew members to be replaced, signed off and flown home as soon as possible.
We are grateful to the SCA for allowing these two individuals who needed to get home to their families,” a spokesperson of Bernhard Shulte Shipmanagement, maritime solution provider and technical manager of Ever Given, told TOI.
The National Union of Seafarers of India (NSUI) has also expressed happiness. “We are concerned for the rest of those on board. There is worldwide support for the 25 Indian crew on board Ever given. We want to see all the crew members out of this mess as the main issue between the SCA and the ship owners is about compensation, which can settle between themselves,” NUSI general secretary and treasurer Abdulgani Y Serang told TOI.
The National Shipping Board and NSUI raised concerns over the safety of Indian seafarers, especially after the container ship was ‘arrested’ by the SCA on April 13. The SCA is seeking damages to the tune of $1 billion for the loss of revenue it suffered.