PARADIP: Paradip Port has instituted a standard operating procedure (SOP) for crew change in vessels that have been stranded there for months due to the lockdown restrictions.
The SOP, formulated by leading shipping agency JM Baxi and Co (JMB), as per the guidelines issued by DG, Shipping and Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has ensured proper disembarkment of crew stranded in vessels docked in the port for over two months.
As per the SOP, the crew were subjected to Covid tests and then granted permission to disembark. They have been put up in a private quarantine centre in a hotel.
The agency handled crew changes of four vessels, MT Sunlight Express MV Atlantic Harmony, MV Aquintania and MT Dawn Madurai successfully.
Now vessels calling for cargo operations can change their crew easily at the port. Even agents who do not have local offices in the town, are finding it convenient to follow the procedures. ENS