A group of Indian sailors stranded off the Chinese coast for seven months, caught up in a trade dispute between China and Australia, have been allowed to leave for Japan, union officials said.
The sailors had been stuck outside the Chinese port of Jingtang since mid-June due to a Chinese trade embargo on Australian coal.
The embargo kept them from reaching China but maritime law prevented them from taking off with a cargo that had been purchased by Chinese merchants.
“Our seafarers who were doing their job were caught in a political and trade war between Australia and China,” Abdulgani Serang, the general secretary of the National Union of Seafarers of India, told the DPA news agency.
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Home › Shipping News › 23 Stranded Seafarers From ‘MV Jag Anand’ Stuck In China Reaches Japan
23 Stranded Seafarers From ‘MV Jag Anand’ Stuck In China Reaches Japan
January 19, 2021
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After much delay, the ship MV Jag Anand with 23 Indian sailors who were stranded in Chinese waters for months due to Australian Coal Cargo ban has finally arrived in Tokyo. The seafarers will fly back to India tonight after they clear COVID procedures.
The Indian sailors were stuck in Jingtang port since June last year. Another group of Indian sailors are still stranded on a foreign ship MV Anastasia with a similar fate. Jag Anand was an Indian ship owned by an Indian company Great Eastern while Anastasia is owned by MSC.
23 Indian sailors stuck in China set to return home, many still stranded
23 Indian sailors stuck in China set to return home, many still stranded
The 23 Indian sailors who were stuck in China are likely to return home this week. While 10 crew members left for India on Monday, 13 others will be leaving on Tuesday.
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UPDATED: January 19, 2021 15:56 IST
India earlier said it was closely coordinating with China to bring back Indian sailors stranded on a cargo ship in Chinese waters.
Indian sailors stranded in Chinese waters for several months, including crew members of MV Jag Anand, reached Japan on Monday and are likely to reach India soon.
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(Bloomberg) China is considering accepting some stranded Australian coal cargoes, an effort that would help ease a logjam of vessels that have stacked up off its coast for months.
The shipments that could be cleared are those that arrived before a ban on Australian coal went into effect, said a person familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private.
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Deliberations are at an initial stage and any decision would need the approval of more senior Chinese leaders, the person said. The broader prohibition on Australian coal remains in place, and ideally the cargoes would be resold to buyers in other countries, the person said.
Seafarers on Indian, foreign ships to get PF, gratuity and pension benefits
January 12, 2021
SPFO to submit to govt modalities of the plan that will benefit 4-lakh seamen
Some four lakh Indian seafarers of all ranks working on board Indian and foreign flagged ships moved a step closer to getting provident fund, gratuity and pension benefits after their long-pending demand was accorded “in-principle” approval.
The Board of Trustees of the Seamens’ Provident Fund Organisation (SPFO), headed by Amitabh Kumar, Director-General of Shipping, backed the demand at a meeting on Monday.
“An in-principle decision has been taken by the SPFO Board of Trustees to extend these benefits to all seafarers working on Indian and foreign flagged ships,” Amitabh Kumar, who chaired the meeting, told BusinessLine. “With the in-principle approval, the SPFO will now work out the modalities, take approval from the Board of Trustees and make a recommendation to the government. The final de