13/12/2020
41 INDIAN SAILORS STUCK ON 2 SHIPS OFF CHINESE COAST
By Anjana Vaswani, Bangalore Mirror Bureau | Updated: Dec 13, 2020, 06.00 AM IST
All of us now have some idea of how devastating isolation can be: it affects sleep patterns, impairs one’s power of reasoning, unleashes stress hormones, and can even drive one to the depths of depression. Understandably, after the Maharashtra government allowed some physical activity as part of ‘Mission Begin Again’ at the end of May, people rushed outdoors. So eager were they to get a breath of fresh air and see some new faces that even the risk of contracting this dreaded virus didn’t hold anyone back. The world was stunned by pictures of the crowds at the Marine Drive promenade in June this year. That was after roughly two months of confinement in the comfort of our homes, where, if nothing else, you could at least walk around your building compound and nod a hello to neighbours. Now, imagine stretching that scenario to a whole year, or 18 months, and tighten the restrictions so you can’t even kiss your child on the forehead or hug your ageing mother. That’s what the 18 sailors aboard the MV Anastasia have had to endure, and the nightmare carries on.
In addition to the 18 on the Anastasia, another 23 Indian sailors are stuck aboard the MV Jag Anand. Anchored in Chinese waters, the ships, which are carrying coking coal meant for China, are unable to leave because they have not been given permission to offload their cargo. At some point, the pandemic and the contingent travel restrictions will end. But a trade war, such as the one the ships are caught up in, is far more unpredictable.
The MV Anastasia has been docked at Caofeidian anchorage in China’s Bohai Sea since August 2019. The 18 Indian crew members, who were to be relieved after their six or nine months of duty, found their time unexpectedly extended as the pandemic hit and the borders closed. This forced many, like 58-year-old Wilton Joseph, an electrical officer on the ship, to extenuate their contracts.
The bulk liner, owned by the Swiss-Italian Mediterranean Shipping Company, had set sail from the port of Hay Point in Queensland, Australia, in June 2019, with a shipment of coal.
International work standards stipulate a maximum of 11 months at sea for maritime workers, but some of these crew members have been stranded for 18 months
By the time Joseph informed his Mulund-based family that he was stranded on the ship, he had already clocked nine months — three months more than the time specified in his typical contracts. International work standards stipulate a maximum of 11 months at sea for maritime workers, and Joseph’s wife Bindu assumed this last trip from Australia to China meant that her husband would be home by August, at the latest. By October, Bindu and Joseph’s ageing parents began to realise it may be a while before he comes home.
Around the time the Anastasia set sail from Australia, Indian bulk carrier MV Jag Anand — which has 23 Indian sailors on board — anchored at the Chinese port of Jingtang. It was refused permission to offload its cargo of about 1.6 lakh tonnes of Australian coking coal. This was in response to political and economic tensions between the two nations, which have been escalating for some time now.
In 2017, Australia banned foreign political donations citing reports of Chinese attempts to influence the political process in Canberra. The following year, it banned Chinese tech giant Huawei from its 5G network, and subsequently blocked 10 massive Chinese investment deals in Australia. The country has also been openly critical of China’s actions in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the South China Sea. This year, when Australia supported calls for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, it was the straw that broke China’s back.
Indian crew members found their duty unexpectedly extended as the pandemic hit and borders got closed
In May, China curbed Australian beef imports and subsequently imposed embargoes on various Australian commodities, including coal. In November, Chinese government spokesperson Zhao Lijian announced that Australia has “repeatedly made wrong statements and actions on issues concerning China’s core interests”. But the source of the shipment isn’t the only problem. Another bone of contention is the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue oor Quad, an informal alliance between the US, Japan, Australia and India. The purpose of the group is to oppose China’s attempts to control strategic waterways across the South China Sea. Needless to say, China is not in favour of it.
The Anastasia and Jag Anand are not the only casualties of these diplomatic disputes. In November, Bloomberg reported that more than $500 million worth of Australian coal is stuck on 66 ships anchored off Chinese ports. Two such ships, the Dong-A Eos and the Dong-A Astrea, were recently allowed to unload their cargo at Jingtang.
Some have developed spots on their skin, possibly scurvy
Second Engineer Anand Fernandes, who has been on the Anastasia for 13 months now, has heard about this but doesn’t draw any hope from it. The 45-year-old, whose parents, brother, wife and 12-year-old son eagerly await his return to their Vasai home, says: “They [the authorities] say they’re trying, but nothing is happening. We’re told it’ll happen today, maybe tomorrow, but nothing. And there’s no clarity.” Fernandes’ family is worried about his state of mind, . “I am worried about my family, too,” he says. “Our government must speak to the Chinese government and get our ships cleared, as the others have been. We’ve sent a petition to the PMO, Amit Shah and others, but no help appears to be forthcoming,” says Fernandes.
On the other hand, China’s border stand-off with India has fuelled greater cooperation between India and Australia. An article in the South China Morning Post quotes Vinay Kaura, assistant professor at the Department of International Affairs and Security Studies, at Sardar Patel University of Police, Security and Criminal Justice, Rajasthan, as saying: “India and Australia are trying to act together to ensure that their trade is not held hostage by China’s bullying tactics. With the emergence of a new ‘Cold War’, there is a strong possibility of [a] decoupling of trade relations between China and many countries.”
Meanwhile, for the sailors and their families, each day begins with hope and ends in despair. “I feel like a prisoner,” Joseph tells Mirror. “The company has been providing for us, but we are physically and mentally exhausted. We need to go home.” Jackson Fernando from Tamil Nadu says his 38-year-old brother Louis Raja has been on the Anastasia for 16 months. “He has two sons, aged eight and five, and he misses them. He understands that were it not for the pandemic, he’d have been relieved by now. But that doesn’t alleviate his condition,” says Raja.
On November 18, the International Transport Workers’ Federation sent a message to media houses to draw attention to the issue. Abdulgani Serang, general secretary of the National Union of Seafarers of India, and an executive board member of the ITF, has raised the issue with the shipping companies and authorities through the International Maritime Organisation. A press release issued by ITF quotes him as saying, “The ship owners have been trying their best to have the ship’s cargo discharged. They have offered to charter a flight to do the crew change…if a crew change is not possible, then at least the cargo should be discharged so that the ship can move on and sign off the crew at the next convenient port. There are even offers from neighbouring countries to buy the coal and help resolve the situation”.
Yet, the impasse continues and it does not surprise Kaura. “I am sure that the merchant company must have exhausted all diplomatic options to persuade the Chinese to let them return or at least [have] a crew change. Since trade and diplomatic ties between China and Australia have strained significantly, and India has also shown resolve to stand up to China’s aggressive posture on the dispute border, one cannot rule out the possibility that these factors might be behind China’s stubbornness,” he says.
Savitri Singh, the 70-year-old mother of Gaurav Singh, 28, one of the sailors on the Anastasia, broke down while speaking to Mirror. A couple of weeks ago, Gaurav’s brother-in-law Shivraj G started a change.org petition to draw attention to this, but Savitri’s hope is fading fast. “It’s been 13 months since Gaurav last set foot on land. I know he’s miserable. How can I breathe easy when my son is in such a state?” she asks. The family has spoken to the Indian embassy and approached various officials, “but they just say we are working on it, and months have gone by… I can’t sleep because I am so worried about him. He is broken; he feels he’ll never see his family again. If something happens, they will just say they’re sorry but I’ll lose my child”, Savitri says.
Mirror made several attempts to contact NUSI and the office of the minister for external affairs S Jaishankar, but received no response. “It seems that everyone has given up on us,” Singh says.
Kaura believes Beijing must be more humanitarian about this. “They must allow the hapless sailors to return to India as they have been on board for a long time. China’s non-cooperative and coercive attitude will further antagonise Indian public opinion, and any casualty will put further barriers in the normalisation of ties,” he says. After all, these are civilians, not soldiers; they cannot become casualties of political and economic parleying.
