New Delhi (NVI): The Ministry of External Affairs today said that the Indian embassy in China is continuously pursuing the issue of crew change on two Indian ships stuck in Chinese waters and is closely coordinating with Beijing to bring back 39 Indian sailors who are stranded on the vessels for months.
39 Indian sailors are stranded on two ships– MV Jag Anand and MV Anastasia– and this has become a humanitarian issue now, especially in the wake of India-China border tensions.
While commenting on the situation on two ships, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava today said, “As regards MV Anastasia, we are closely coordinating with the Chinese authorities who are finalising the process or SOP to effect crew change at anchorage. As soon as this is received from the Chinese authorities, the company is expected to initiate the process of crew change.”
Regarding another vessel MV Jag Anand, the MEA spokesman said the owner – Great Eastern Shipping Company has informed that they had decided to undertake the crew change in Chiba, Japan, where the ship will disembark 23 crew members and take on 23 replacement crew members. The disembarking crew will be flown back to their home towns in India from Tokyo, he informed.
Earlier on January 9, Union Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had said that around 23 of the 39 Indian sailors stranded at Chinese ports for months are set to return to India on January 14.
-ARK
