Having taken cognisance of Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi’s appeal seeking intervention to rescue and evacuate 39 sailors stranded in China since July, the Ministry of External Affairs has taken up the matter to China’s Vice Foreign Minister and sought Beijing’s assistance for evacuation of the stranded sailors.
“On December 31, I had appealed via a letter to External Aflairs Minister S Jaishankar ji, requesting him to intervene in prioritizing the rescue and evacuation of 39 of our sailors stranded since July in China,” Priyanka said here on Saturday.
According to Chaturvedi, the two ships -MV Anastasia and the Indian bulk carrier Jag Anand — were refused 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.
The Anastasia has been 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 said.
“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 said.
The Sena MP, however, said that the Chinese authorities continued to maintain that “the crew change isn’t being permitted from these ports due to Covid related restrictions”. “This is an untenable situation and has to be pursued diligently till a solution is found,” she said.
Priyanka also thanked the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for taking suo moto cognizance of the issue and for pursuing this with MEA Secretary and Director General Shipping, Ministry of Ports and Waterways. “I will continue to pursue this with the relevant authorities till our sailors are brought back home,” the Sena MP added.