New Delhi (NVI): Around 23 of the 39 Indian sailors stranded at Chinese ports for months are set to return to India on January 14, Union Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said today.
The Minister took to Twitter and informed that the ship M.V. Jag Anand is on its way to Chiba in Japan, where a crew change will be carried out.
“Our Seafarers stuck in China are coming back to India! Ship M. V. Jag Anand, having 23 Indian crews, stuck in China, is set to sail toward Chiba, Japan to carry out crew change, will reach India on 14th January. This could only happen due to strong leadership of @NarendraModi ji,” Mandaviya tweeted.
Our Seafarers stuck in China are coming back to India!
Ship M. V. Jag Anand, having 23 Indian crews, stuck in China, is set to sail toward Chiba,Japan to carry out crew change, will reach India on 14th January.
This could only happen due to strong leadership of @NarendraModi ji— Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) January 9, 2021
The minister further thanked the Great Eastern Shipping Company for the humanitarian gesture.
“I deeply appreciate the humanitarian approach of the Great Eastern Shipping Company towards the seafarers and standing by them in this crucial time,” he said in another tweet.
Due to coronavirus related restrictions, the Chinese authorities have not allowed the ships, MV Jag Anand and MV Anastasia, to either dock or go for a crew change for months.
Indian bulk cargo vessel MV Jag Anand, with 23 Indian sailors, has been on anchorage near Jingtang port in Hebei province of China since June 13, 2020, while MV Anastasia, with 16 Indians as crew members, is on anchorage near Caofeidian port since September 20.
The spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Anurag Srivastava earlier said that the Indian Embassy in Beijing continued to remain in close and continuous touch with the Chinese authorities as well as shipping companies to ensure that crew changes can be effected at the earliest.
-RJV
