JOIN USSeafarers Union seeks safety of Indian crew on Ever Given
The All India Seafarers’ Union has written to the Directorate General of Shipping and German ship management company Bernhard Schulte Ship Management (BSM), over the safety of 25 Indian crew members on board of container ship Ever Given, which was seized by Egyptian authorities.
The union demanded that the “Indian crew should be safe and sound, and well-treated by the Egyptian authorities”.
"Indian crew on board at Ever Given should not be held hostage by the Egyptian authorities. They should be well-treated... In case it gets any complaint, we (union) will definitely demand for the sign-off (of the crew) as soon as possible." Union working president Abhijeet D Sangle has said.
The 25 crews members from India mostly from Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and some North Indian states.
Egypt seized the vessel that blocked the Suez Canal last month as talks continued over the more than $900 million in compensation sought by Suez Canal Authority.
A court in the city of Ismailia granted a seizure of vessel at the behest of the Suez Canal Authority, said news report.
The ship’s insurer for third-party losses, the U.K. P&I Club, said in a statement on Tuesday that the Ever Given’s owner -- Japan-based Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd. -- received a claim for $916 million.
The Panama-registered cargo vessel owned by Japanese shipping company Shoei Kisen Kaisha. Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement manages the Ever Given.
The massive cargo vessel ran aground at the Suez Canal on March 23 causing disruptions of movement of ships on the busy route for over a week. The ship is still in the Egypt’s Great Bitter Lake as it has not been allowed to leave. All its crew is still on board the ship.
According news report, though investigators have analyzed data from the Voyage Data Recorder, known as a vessel's black box, they did not came to conclusion on what led the Ever Given to run aground.