The State and Central agencies have found themselves at loggerheads over the manner in which the outer anchorage crew change was stopped at Vizhinjam seaport, a major revenue source of the port during the time of COVID-19.
The Bureau of Immigration (BoI) has issued an order with regard to stopping outer anchorage crew change on July 20. The order said that controlled crew change services being rendered from the outer anchorage of Vizhinjam seaport had been withdrawn with immediate effect until further notice. Those steamer agents who had already submitted documents for crew change in the near future shall be considered, but no fresh cases would not be entertained in the light of an order issued by the Director General of Shipping (DGS).
DGS order
Whereas, the DGS order issued on April 1, 2022 states that the directorate had issued several instructions, Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and orders to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic onboard Indian vessels, including cruise vessels seafarers and vessels calling at Indian ports. In the light of improvement in COVID conditions, it had been decided that all COVID-19-related directives and SOPs issued by the DGS are withdrawn with immediate effect, the order said.
The BoI withdrew the crew change a few days ago by interpreting the DGS order issued in April. The State government that took up the matter with the Centre argues that the DGS order has no mention of withdrawing crew change but BoI officials went beyond its limits and powers.
A senior BoI officer said the outer anchorage crew change was introduced during the time of COVID-19 considering the restrictions imposed by various countries on seafarers. When the DGS revoked all COVID-19-related directives and SOPs, naturally the crew change would also come into the ambit of the order.
The port authorities were free to hold inner anchorage crew change at their will, said the officer. But this would not benefit the Vizhinjam in a big way, as big vessels cannot call at the port. Another question remains why the BoI took around three months to withdraw the services based on an April directive of the DGS, if it was right.
Now the BoI is of the view that if the State government wants to resume the outer anchorage crew change, they should first approach the DGS and bring clarity in the order issued by the DGS. The fact is that Vizhinjam port could generate a revenue of over ₹10 crore during COVID-19 times by facilitating the crew change in 732 vessels including Indian and foreign.
