Mumbai, March 5
At least 21 Indian sailors aboard a merchant ship have been stranded at Mykolaiv port in war-torn Ukraine for some time, but they are all “safe” and in “regular contact” with their families and the ship management agency. According to Sanjay Parashar, the founder and CEO of the agency.
Parashar said 24 other ships have also been docked at the port and this includes Indian sailors.
He said VR Maritime (Ship Management Agency) is monitoring the developments and keeping all concerned officials in the loop, including the Ministry of External Affairs, the Indian Embassy and the Director General of Shipping, the sector regulator.
DG Shipping Amitabh Kumar was not available for comment.
Parashar said the crew had not left the ship since the war broke out between Russia and Ukraine last month and the ship was being closely monitored.
“Currently the ship is standing at Port Mykolaiv. There are a total of 25 ships including ours. There are other ships that have got Indian sailors. As far as our ship is concerned, for now both the crew and the ship are safe.
“Internet and satellite communications are working onboard. At the moment we are in touch with all the crew and their families. Also, the crew themselves are in direct contact with their family members,” Prashar told PTI.
According to the information available with the company, the port is not functioning and “the Russian army is probably too close to the port on the Black Sea coast”, he said.
“If Russian forces come into port and they let some ships go, it is fine. Otherwise, we need some assistance from the port authority, including some tug boats and other types of services, to allow the ship to depart safely. will be required,” he said.
Parashar said that in an emergency, if the company has to evacuate its crew, the nearest Poland border is 900 km away and moving to a safer place in Kyiv would mean traveling 500 km from the port city, “so for them.” To reach “either of these two places is not possible right now.”
“We are very cautious. Therefore, it is better to be on the expert and master decision board, rather than staying in the bunker or anywhere else inside Ukraine,” he said.
Nevertheless, the company is submitting a status report to the Indian Embassy every day, he said.
He also said that there are some other agencies which are involved in the issue such as International Water Transport Federation (IWTF) and National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI).
According to IWTF Executive Board member and NUSI Secretary General Abdulgani Serang, their union is in constant touch with its Ukrainian counterpart on the issue.