Ship managers resort to charter flights for moving seafarers to and from ports overseas as deadline looms, reports The Hindu BusinessLine.
Alternatives for resuming crew change
With looming deadlines, Indian ship management and crewing companies are resorting to charter flights to move seafarers to and from ports overseas.
This move is likely to bring some business to troubled private airlines, such as SpiceJet, that were hit by a two-month long restrictions on air travel to combat coronavirus.
Deadline to repatriate crew
International flights yet to resume
With international flights yet to re-start operations to India, ship owners, managers and crewing companies have come under pressure to work out alternatives for resuming crew change.
Crew change Following IMO guidelines
Crew change halted globally since February due to the pandemic. International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) and International Maritime Employers’ Council (IMEC) have given governments time until June 15 to repatriate crew working beyond their stipulated contract time, by following the guidelines issued by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
Info on charter flights arranged
On May 30, two SpiceJet charter flights will carry Indian seafarers to join ships in South Korea and Japan.
The two SpiceJet charter flights are:
- one from Mumbai to Colombo run by V R Maritime and
- the other from Chennai to Colombo run by SeaTeam Management (India) Pvt Ltd.
The two countries have allowed crew change despite the pandemic-induced restrictions. The two charter flights have received government approvals.
Seafarers heading to South Korea
SeaTeam is the Indian ship management unit of Frontline Ltd, the world’s largest oil tanker shipping company, based in Hamilton, Bermuda and controlled by shipping tycoon John Fredriksen.
Seafarers going by the charter flight run by SeaTeam Management are headed for South Korea to board ships.
Accompanying other company seafarers
Apart from its own crew, SeaTeam will also fly seafarers from a few other companies to Colombo, from where they will travel to South Korea to join yard delivery vessels.
Crew change for yard deliveries
Owners and managers are mostly moving seafarers to overseas ports for yard deliveries and not for crew change. This is being done to avoid losing vessels or jobs to other nationalities.
In the case of yard delivery, the ship is in the ship building yard and it has to be taken over by the owner. For this, seafarers are sent to the yard and they do the sea-trials and take over the ship.
No crew to China
Captain Sanjay Prashar, managing director at V R Maritime, a ship management company said, “We cannot send crew to China, otherwise we would have taken over more ships for manning. Seafarers don’t have Visas to go to China because the embassy is shut.”
Obstacles with charter flight plans
Cost for chartering
Each charter flight costs as much as Rs50 lakhs to the entity chartering the plane on a Mumbai to Colombo and back run.
Plan for Seafarers
- Flight schedules by which seafarers can reach a place.
- Do Covid tests
- Stay in a quarantined atmosphere
- Have the connecting flight to wherever the seafarer wants to go.
Prashar said, “Actually, this is a very bad plan but in desperation this is the only plan.”
Approval for flights
- To fill the return flight with seafarers, Directorate General of Shipping and the Ministry of External Affairs has to be given the crew manifest.
- If approved, then seafarers can be brought back.
- The return flight approval comes from five authorities.
- The onward flight requires the approval of one authority.
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Source: The Hindu BusinessLine
