Permission from  Union Ministry of Shipping after the efforts of  Chief Minister

            Mumbai :  With the efforts of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, 146 Indian sailors and crew, stranded on a large cruise ship Marila Discovery, have finally got permission

            to land at Mumbai port.  The Union Home Ministry yesterday issued an order in this regard after the Chief Minister himself spoke to the Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandavia.  It will also benefit about 4000 sailors and crew  on  the ships at sea.

            From tomorrow morning, the sailors and crew on the cruise will start landing at Mumbai port.  They will also undergo a medical examination.  A building has also been made available to quarantine them.

            From April 2 to 6, Marila Discovery cruise was scheduled to arrive in Cochin, New Mangalore, Goa and Mumbai from April 2 to April 6.  Meanwhile, the Corona outbreak started and the cruise left all the travelers at Laem  Chabang, Thailand, on March 14.  This cruise arrived in Cochin on April 12, but the crew on the cruise was not given permission to land.  The cruise then reached the sea near Mumbai on April 14 and its crew has been waiting to land in Mumbai  since then.  It was clarified that none of the crew on the ship was infected with the Corona.  It had been 37 days since leaving Thailand but they did not get any permission even though there was no infection on the ship , the company explained.

            Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray brought the matter to the notice of the Shipping Ministry in this regard.  Principal Secretary Vikas Kharge, Ashish Kumar Singh and Sanjay Bhatia, President of the Mumbai Port Trust, were constantly following the matter.

            Yhe Union Home Ministry issued an order in this regard yesterday.  It provides definite procedures for merchant and trade ship crews and sailors to land at and pass through Indian ports.  The order includes that these employees are required to inform  about their last 28 days’ journey, as well as conducting a Covid test on arrival at the port, quarantine if required, issuing transit passes, vehicle arrangements etc. to leave these sailors and employees directly at their home.

            This will benefit 35,000 to 40,000 Indian sailors currently stranded in various ships at sea.

            The cruise will leave for Norway.