Kakinada: International agency Protection and Indemnity Insurance (PII) has entered the scene to amicably resolve the issue of Chinese ship M.T. QIAN TAI-1, which has been stranded off Kakinada Port.
It is expected that PII, a Singapore-based organisation, will take about a week to deal with the Chinese crew of the currently “off-limits” ship.
According to sources, the cargo ship has now remained stranded at Kakinada Anchorage Port for more than 50 days. This is because the ship’s captain Wang Zeyan, a Chinese national, has not been allowing Indian crew members into the ship. The stand-off started following a change in technical ownership of the vessel from Seacon Ships Management of China to Singapore’s Oka Ship Management.
Oka Ship wants to change the crew of the vessel with Indian staff. But, the ship’s Chinese captain is not agreeable to this, it is said.
Representatives of Seacon Ships and Oka Ship held several discussions in Singapore regarding the issue on Saturday. Following this, PII will take the initiative to sort out the matter amicably. PII and Seacon Ships Management officials are holding discussions with the vessel’s Chinese captain in this regard.
Meanwhile, local agents have made it clear that they are in no way troubling the stranded ship’s crew. “They ordered food all the way from Chennai. We made every arrangement for the purpose. But the ship’s captain has launched a false propaganda,’’ said an agent of the Singapore company.
It is said the vessel’s Chinese crew, particularly the captain, fear that they may lose their jobs along with handover of the ship. That is why the captain has been refusing to let the new Indian crew board the vessel.
