The cargo ship MV Jagannath has been anchored in China since June 13: Anurag Srivastava, MEA spokesperson
New Delhi:
China said on Wednesday that the “real” reason for the Indian sailors trapped in China is that “the freight forwarder does not want to adjust plans due to commercial interests.”
The spokesman for the counselor of the Chinese embassy in India, Ji Rong, also said that the Chinese authorities “have never denied the departure of any ship.
On Twitter, the spokesperson said: “The Chinese authorities have been in close communication with the Indian side and have provided timely assistance and necessary supplies to the Indian sailors. China has never denied the departure of any ships. The real cause of the situation is that the freight forwarder does not want to adjust plans for commercial interests “.
The Chinese authorities have been in close communication with the Indian side and have provided timely assistance and necessary supplies to the Indian sailors. China has never denied the departure of any ship. The real cause of the situation is that the freight forwarder does not want to adjust the plans due to commercial interests.
– Ji Rong (@ChinaSpox_India) December 30, 2020
Earlier today, the Union Maritime Transport Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that the Indian sailors trapped in China will be returned to India soon as diplomatic talks with the neighboring country are underway.
“There is a diplomatic discussion on this issue. Our seafarers will return to India very soon,” Mandaviya said when asked “what steps the government has taken to bring back 39 seafarers trapped in Chinese ports over the past seven months.”
“The cargo ship MV Jagannath has been anchored near the Jingtang port in China since June 13 and has 23 Indian nationals on board. Another ship, MV Anastasia, which has 16 Indian nationals, is at anchor near the Caofeidian port in China. since September 20. Both ships are waiting to unload cargo, “said MEA spokesman Anurag Srivastava.
“Our embassy in Beijing has been in constant contact with the provincial and central government authorities in China on this matter. They are requesting that ships be allowed to unload their cargo and that crew members be allowed to change,” he added.
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