63,000 onboard China ships stuck at Indian ports

Mumbai: As many as 63,000 crew members and passengers on board vessels mostly from China have been denied disembarkation at Indian ports so far, as part of efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus, a shipping ministry official said. These crew members and passengers reached Indian ports on board about 1,990 vessels between January 27 and April 30, the official added.

"A total of 62,948 crew and passengers reached India's ports on board about 1,990 ships, mostly from China. Thermal scanning of all these crew and passengers were done as per the WHO (World Health Organization) guidelines. Besides adhering to all precautions and laid-down protocols to prevent any further spread of COVID-19, no shore passes or daily passes were issued to these people, and EXIM cargo was handled with care," the official told PTI.

Of the total 1,990 ships, 1,621 reached major ports and were allowed anchoring at designated places for loading and unloading of export-import (EXIM) cargo.Of these 63,000 crew and passengers onboard these ships, 56,000 reached the major ports, the official said.

For maintaining smooth operations across ports, the shipping ministry has initiated a number of steps that include waiving of rentals.

The government has asked all major ports to ensure that no penalties, demurrage, charges, fees and rentals are levied on any port user (traders, shipping lines, concessionaires, licensees, etc) for any delay in berthing or loading/unloading operations or evacuation of cargo caused by the reasons attributable to lockdown measures from March 22.