146 Indian seafarers stuck on cruise ship allowed to disembark in Mumbai: Maharashtra CMO

In a big development on Wednesday, 146 Indian seafarers stuck on the Marella Discovery cruise ship have been allowed to disembark at the port in Mumbai. As per a statement released by the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Office on Wednesday, CM Uddhav Thackeray played a pivotal role in this regard. The statement claimed that the Union Home Ministry gave the green signal after Thackeray spoke to the MoS Shipping. 

Moreover, the Maharashtra CM Office revealed that this decision would also benefit nearly 40,000 seafarers stuck on ships. The statement specified that the Mumbai port will initiate the process of disembarkment from Thursday. The seafarers will be tested for COVID-19 and a quarantine centre has also been set up for this purpose. 

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Centre permit sign-on and sign-off of seafarers

Currently, there are 19,984 confirmed novel coronavirus cases in India out of which 3870 persons have recovered while 640 casualties have been reported. The Ministry of Home Affairs released the revised consolidated guidelines for the nationwide lockdown after it was extended to May 3. In an order issued by the MHA dated April 21, the sign-on and sign-off of Indian seafarers have been permitted in the lockdown period. Moreover, a Standard Operating Procedure has been laid down to facilitate this process. According to the SOP, seafarers who test negative for COVID-19 shall be provided a transit pass to reach their place of residence. 

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