MV Jag Anand crew continue to languish as China reiterates its unwillingness to allow crew change

The plight of 23 crew members of Indian ship Jag Anand is far from over as Chinese govt on Wednesday reiterated its unwillingness to allow a crew change citing epidemic control requirements at ports.

The ship MV Jag Anand laden with huge consignment of Australian coal is stuck at China’s Jingtang port since June as China is not allowing the ship to unload the cargo from Australia with which it is locked in a political tussle.

In response to a question on whether China would allow the change of the crew of ‘Jag Anand’ on humanitarian grounds, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian at a press briefing, did not give any clear reply, instead he cited the epidemic prevention measures.

Mr. Zhao also did not give a clear reply to a question on whether crew change can be allowed after due quarantine protocol. Generally, a 14 days quarantine period is a scientifically accepted practice across the globe to detect the presence of COVID-19 virus. “In China, there