India set to take up seafarers’ cause

An Indian delegation will visit Iran on Saturday to discuss the strategy for repatriation of Indian seafarers who are stuck at various ports of Iran, and who had been allegedly sent to Iran illegally.

Officials from the ministry of external affairs (MEA) and Union shipping ministry are part of the delegation that will hold discussions with their Iranian counterparts from the ports and maritime administration of Iran, sources from the MEA said.

The visit is said to be of a great importance as it is scheduled a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Iran. MEA officials claimed that discussions on the inquiry report on the death of Indian seafarer Palash Balsetwar from Aurangabad in Maharashtra is also on the cards.

The Asian Age had reported on March 20 this year that Palash (20), a deck cadet working for the ill-fated ship MV Mashhour lost his life as the ship sank late on the night of March 15, 2016 near Iran.

The Indian delegation is said to seek monetary compensation for the family of Palash from the Iranian government and also inquire about the investigations of the sunken vessel and the action taken against the ship owner who was sailing on 22-year-old ship, which is called a junk ship that is not fit for sailing.

Palash’s body was brought back to India in April 2016, almost a month after the accident and the cause of the death according to the post mortem report was due to excess water entering his lungs.

“The tentative figure of seafarers stuck in around 12 ports of Iran is around 5,000. Further, after talking with seafarers who have returned to India from Iran it has come to light that many seafarers who have illegally gone to Iran are not paid proper salaries nor given proper food to eat. We will be discussing on having a proper action plan to instruct ship owners in Iran to employ those Indians who have gone to Iran through recruitment and placement agencies which are registered by the Indian shipping ministry,” said a Indian delegation member.