Indian sailors trapped on MV Jag Anand and MV Anastasia appealed to navigation officer Gaurav Singh, 29, for assistance, saying one member of the crew was even trying to put an end to his life.
Since 13 June, MV Jag Anand has been stationed near Jingtang Harbour in China’s Hebei Province and has 23 Indian sailors. Since 20 September, MV Anastasia, with 16 Indian nationals, has been anchored near Caofeidian port in China.
Singh stated, speaking to a major newspaper: “We are all losing our minds here.”
Attempts Of Suicide:
China has supposedly blocked these vessels from switching crews at its ports to monitor the possible spread of Covid-19.
Although China claims that Indian sailors were providing the requisite assistance, the crew claimed that a ship lacking safe water or a physician on board had been kept ‘captive’.
India reported on 25 December that two cargo ships were not permitted to unload their cargo, although some other ships succeeded to do so.
“There is a considerable amount of stress on the crew members on account of this unprecedented situation,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had stated.
There has been no ‘link’ between both the two ships stuck at Chinese ports, Zhao said, and their strained links with India and Australia.
Significant Tension on crew members: MEA
MV Jag Anand and 21 several ships are bringing over $200 million in Australian coal, and given the current political atmosphere between China and Canberra, ships are being held up at Chinese ports.
Since the Galway Valley event in June, India, and China have been embroiled in a bitter face-off along the Line of Actual Control (LoAC).
After the Chinese telecom giant, Huawei Technologies was banned from its national 5G network by the Scott Morrison government in response to fears about national security, China’s relations with Australia nose-dived.
Inside a text, Party Speaker and Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi brought up the issue with Minister S Jaishankar of External Affairs.
“The 39 Indian sailors have been left to their fate without much support from the central government and their families are struggling to get them back. The families of the sailors, many of whom are based in Maharashtra, have been running from pillar to post with no help in sight,” she said.
With 39 Indian sailors on board, two cargo vessels, MV Anastasia and MV Jag Anand were anchored in Chinese waters because they were not permitted to offload their load, although some other ships attempted to do so.
