In a big relief, 23 Indian sailors on board ship MV Jag Anand, stranded off China since July last year, were allowed to set sail for a port in Japan on Saturday evening.
Announcing this, National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) General Secretary Abdulgani Y. Serang said here in the evening: “The 23 of the ship MV Jag Anand have lifted anchor, and cleared to sail and reach Chiba Port, Japan by Jan. 14. The crew change will take place there and after completing the Covid-19 formalities, they will start on their return journey to India”.
Serang said that 23 member-crew of ship MV Jag Anand along with their counterparts on another ship, MV Anastasia, had been stranded off the China anchorage since over six months now.
Serang said that he was optimisticl that the crew of MV Anastasia would be accorded similar clearances soon as their anxious families in India await their return.
After having been at sea for more than 18 months, the seafarers on both ships had found themselves in a ‘floating prison’, caught as they were unwittingly in a political war between China and Australia. So much so that many of the seafarers had taken ill and they needed urgent medical attention.
Serang’s confirmation about 23 stranded Indian sailors on board ship MV Jag Anand having set sail for Japan came hours after Minister of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways Mansukh Mandaviya said: “Ship MV Jag Anand, having 23 Indian crews, stuck in China, is set to sail towards Chiba, Japan to carry out crew change, will reach India on January 14”.
Earlier in the evening, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, who had been rooting for the rescue and evacuation of 39 sailors stranded in China since July, expressed happiness over the news that Ship MV Jag Anand, with 23 Indian sailors on its board, would reach India on January 14.
Reacting to a statement about the impending return of 23 hither-to stranded sailors to India on January 14, Priyanka said: “I had been raising this issue with @MEAIndia and for it to now reach a conclusion gives me immense happiness and satisfaction”
“I was in constant touch with some of our seafarers on board and they were really worried, this news will thrill them. This is great news! Thank you @MEAIndia @DrSJaishankar ji and @mansukhmandviya ji,” Priyanka tweeted.
It may be recalled that Priyanka had on December 31 written to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar ji, requesting him to intervene in prioritizing the rescue and evacuation of 39 of our sailors stranded since July in China.
Following the Sena MP’s request, the Ministry of External Affairs has taken up the matter China's Vice Foreign Minister and sought Beijing’s assistance for evacuation of the stranded sailors.
“It was heartening to note that Gol has taken cognizance of the matter and Indian Ambassador has personally taken up this issue with China's Vice Foreign Minister. The MEA has also conveyed to the Chinese that assistance should be provided in an urgent, practical and time-bound mamer siven the humanitarian situation developing on board these ships,” Priyanka had said in a statement issued on January 3.
The two ships -MV Anastasia and the Indian bulk carrier Jag Anand –were denied permission by the Chinese authorities to offload their cargo nor did they allow other sailors to be sent in so as to relieve the crew.
According to Priyanka, Anastasia was docked at China's Bohai Sea and Jag Anand anchored at the Chinese port of Jingtang. “lt has been widely reported that on board, the merchant ship the Anastasia, four crew members are on suicide watch. Many of the crew members have developed skin infections due to contaminated water supply. There is no medical help,” Priyanka said.
“The families of the sailors, many of whom are based in Maharashtra, have been running from pillar to post with no help in sight. Hence I had appealed to GoI through our Hon. Minister to ensure that we give this issue the importance it deserved,” the Sena MP had said.