China's trade war with Australia is having very real consequences for stranded seafarers: 'If you want to have a trade war, at least leave us alone'

China's trade war with Australia is having very real consequences for stranded seafarers
Kai Feng 20 Dec 2020 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-20/china-australia-trade-spat-coal-s...

Intensifying trade tensions between China and Australia are now leaving seafarers in limbo, as dozens of ships remain stranded near the Chinese coast.

Bulk carrier Anastasia sailed from Queensland's Hay Point port on July 19, carrying about 90,000 tonnes of Australian coal, according to the ship's 2nd officer, Gaurav Singh.

The ship — sailing under a Panamanian flag — is owned by the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), a Swiss-Italian international shipping group.

Anastasia arrived at the Caofeidian port in north-east China on August 3, and has been moored in the nearby Bohai Bay ever since, because Chinese authorities prohibited it from offloading its cargo.

Mr Singh told the ABC that 16 out of 18 crew members on Anastasia were from India, alongside a Filipino and a Russian.

Mr Singh said MSC had been supplying food via Chinese agencies, but mental health issues, a lack of medical support, and a decline in drinking water quality were compounding their problems.

"One of the crew members, his mind is not stable. He attempted suicide," Mr Singh said.

"The other guys have rashes because the water supplied from China was poor quality."

He said the crew's isolation has been exacerbated by COVID-19 travel restrictions, which had forced them to stay onboard since joining the ship in November 2019.

Since being stranded near the Chinese coast more than four months ago, the crew has not been contacted by any Government or organisation, according to Mr Singh.

They're now approaching media in India and Australia to find help.

"We need to go home," Mr Singh said.

MSC said the delay in getting the crew back on dry land was because the charterers have been exploring options to berth the vessel at other ports.

In other words, the welfare of the ship's crew is dependent on a third party, whose identity was not revealed by MSC.

A spokesperson from MSC's Australian headquarters in Fremantle said the company was "very concerned for the wellbeing of the seafarers onboard and is in contact with them".

"MSC has taken a number of steps to try to relieve the seafarers onboard the vessel where a change of crew is long overdue and urgently needed," the spokesperson said.

"MSC has proposed options for crew changes, but none have been approved so far."
From a high vantage point atop a ladder, you look down at seafarers in orange boiler suits on a red ship's deck.

What the Australian Government can do is very limited as well, as neither the ship nor the crews are Australian, and they are currently in Chinese waters.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said it had "no jurisdiction" regarding the Anastasia.

Meanwhile, Australian unions say they are powerless in this matter because nobody in the crew is a member of an applicable union.

Mr Singh said they've approached the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) for help.

ITF issued an open letter last month, urging the governments of China, India and Australia "to collaborate and urgently end the stalemate around the berthing of the coal-carrying vessels in Chinese ports".

"The company is trying very hard, but they are helpless, they surrendered, because they are saying: 'We can't do anything in front of Chinese authorities'".

Mr Singh said they could not leave Chinese waters either, because they were warned by the importers of the coal and the charterers that the Chinese Navy and port authority may seize the ship and arrest the crew if they did so.

The UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) told the ABC it was aware of the seafarers' concerns.

"We engage with the relevant member states, including the flag state to make sure they are aware of the situation," an IMO statement said.

"IMO also engages with other relevant stakeholders, including trade organisations."

IMO did not specify what this engagement involved, or if the organisation has escalated the seafarers' concerns to relevant member states.

About 21 nautical miles north-east of the Anastasia, there is another Indian bulk carrier, Jag Anand, which is also loaded with Australian coal and stuck off Bohai Bay.

It has been stranded off the north-east Chinese coast since June, after its arrival at Jingtang Port.

Last month, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China (MOFA), Wang Wenbin, said China had never prevented the Jag Anand from leaving Chinese waters.

"China has clear provisions regarding epidemic prevention and control at ports and quarantine requirements for sailors," Mr Wang said.

"The Chinese side has been providing convenience for the sailors involved while complying with these provisions."

He claimed that the vessel's charterer didn't want to adjust the ship's journey due to "commercial interests".

Meanwhile, Chinese authorities including MOFA, the Maritime Safety Authority (MSA), and local government officials, have never discussed the plight of the Anastasia in previous statements.

The ABC has also asked the MSA for comment.

For now, Mr Singh and the crew can only count on international support, or hope the trade dispute between China and Australia can soon come to an end.

Apart from approaching media, Mr Singh has started an online petition, which has garnered more than 44,000 signatures.

Mr Singh told the ABC he and his colleagues simply wanted to reunite with their families, and did not want to be the collateral damage in a broader geopolitical dispute.

"Of course it's a big political issue, but Australia can at least have a dialogue with the Chinese authorities," Mr Singh said.

"We are not blaming Australia, we are not blaming China, we are just delivery guys, we haven't made any mistakes.

"Our job is to take the cargo from point A and deliver the cargo to point B. What is our fault?"

It remains unclear what the next steps are for the crews, but Mr Singh has pleaded for the parties involved to show "humanity".

While the tension between China and Australia show no sign of abating, neither does it seem like there will be an imminent solution for the stranded crews.

"Our families are waiting for us, what have we done? It's not our cargo, it's not our ship," Mr Singh said.