Following an international agreement between the National Union of Seafarers of India and 'manning agents' who recruit them, the wages of seafarers have been hiked with effect from January 1, 2004.
The trade to-and-from India so far is not affected. But if the situation continues to remain the same for the next two to three months, it could definitely hurt India trade, including essential cargo.
Stock to watch: Shipping Corporation and Great Eastern Shipping
A South Korean court on Friday granted bail to the two Indian sailors jailed in South Korea in December for their role in the country's worst oil spill. "They have been given bail but they cannot come to India now," National Union of Seafarers of India general secretary Abdulgani Y Serang said. Their bail is conditional and the matter is pending with the Supreme Court in Seoul, Serang said, adding that the legal proceedings might take some time.
Two Indian sailors, jailed for a year in South Korea after a crane barge collided with their crude carrier leading to a major oil spill in December 2007, were on Thursday acquitted by the Supreme Court in Seoul and are expected to return home soon. Captain Jaspreet Chawla and Chief Officer Shyam Chetan, who had got conditional bail in January, "will be coming to India in two days," General Secretary of the National Union of Seafarers of India Abdulgani Y Serang said.
The M T Stolt Valor, which had been hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden in September, has been released, according to the National Union of Seafarers of India. There were 18 Indian soldiers on board the hijacked ship. Initial reports said that ransom was paid to the pirates by the Japanese owners Stolt Tankers. Reports said that all crew members on board are safe. The ship has left for Mumbai and will reach in three to four days.
Currently, India recycles around 300 of the 1,000 ships which are demolished per annum globally. However, countries like Japan, Europe and the US were not sending their ships for recycling to India in the absence of ratification of a global convention. That scenario is set to change with the Recycling of Ships Act, 2019.
Meanwhile, India has cancelled all visas issued to foreign nationals coming from China as it stepped up efforts to combat the spread of novel coronavirus after 150 passengers were identified with symptoms of the deadly virus and sent to isolation units.
The LDF government -- which has negotiated a series of crises in the form of natural disasters to the Covid pandemic -- cannot turn a blind eye to the accumulated debt of the state that now exceeds Rs 3 trillion and the need for more jobs, investment and industry.
States and Union Territories have been given the powers for delineation of Red, Green and Orange Zones as per COVID-19 situation, the MHA said. All shops, except those in containment zones and malls, will be allowed to open from Monday with staggered timings during lockdown 4.0, it said.
He said India would continue to actively pursue and promote its geo-political, strategic and economic interests on the seas, in particular the Indian Ocean.
The prime minister also pitched for respecting freedom of navigation against the backdrop of South China sea dispute.
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