Chief officer P.J.Melvin and 15 crew are in a ship at the Mumbai port but do not know when they will be sailing. Their ship was supposed to leave for an Oman port on March 19 but has been anchored at Mumbai since then with COVID-19 taking a toll across nations.
Caught between the sea and land, they are unable to go ashore as they will be put in quarantine. Their Indian-flag vessel owned by a Denmark company supports offshore oil drilling platforms.
Like them, there are many merchant vessels with thousands of seamen on ports awaiting sailing clearance since the lockdown to check the spread of COVID-19.
Mr. Melvin, a seafarer since 1998, said over the phone that the pandemic had taken an emotional toll on them.
“I have spent 11 months on the sea now. I have been to a number of countries after long journeys on different vessels. But I feel as if I am in no man’s land now,” he says.
“While sailing there is also clarity when one will reach the shore, which is sadly lacking now. The only activity now is minor repairs,” Mr. Melvin says adding that the same is the case of sailors on other ships at present.
He says there is no cargo movement by sea and oil drilling operations are almost at a standstill now.
“Mobile phones and the Internet are the only solace now. We keep ourselves active playing volleyball or doing exercises after official work. There are hundreds of vessels in Mumbai and other ports that work in tandem with oil shipping and exploration works awaiting sailing clearance,” Mr Melvin, who hails from Kochi, says.
