Suez Canal : Indian Crew of Grounded Suez Canal Ship Appreciated For Hard Work And Professionalism

As the Suez Canal grounded ship Ever Given commences on its journey, concern about its all Indian crew was put to rest. As per officials in Egypt , the 25 Indian crew are in good health and are commencing on the journey to Rotterdam.

The crew won’t be replaced as of now and will sail to Rotterdam if it is deemed fit after full inspection.

“They (crew) are safe and in good health… Their hard work and tireless professionalism are greatly appreciated”, said the ship management company Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM).

BSM manages the Japanese shipping company Shoei Kisen Kaisha-owned ship. Ever Given is a Panama-registered ship.

Directorate General of shipping Amitabh Kumar reiterated this when he said that the crew remains unharmed.

“As there is no harm to the Indian crew, there is no reason for us to intervene right now. As per the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), any vessel that has met with an accident has to be investigated as per its convention. This is called ‘casualty investigation’.

The same will be conducted on this vessel. It will be a fact-finding inquiry. The report is normally submitted by the flag state. If we receive any complaint from the company that the inquiry is not impartial, then of course we will intervene. But so far we have not received any such complaint”, said Kumar.

India is a reliable source of marine manpower and supplies a significant number of seafarers to the maritime industry.