CHENNAI: Seven hundred fishermen stranded in Iran are close to realising their dream of returning home as they have cleared immigration checks and embarked on INS Jalashwa at Bandar Abbas.
The fishermen were hoping to be repatriated in the month of March as their supplies were running out and India was planning to rescue them by launching flight services to Tehran.
However, the fishermen could not be brought back then following which the state government through the Ministry of External Affairs intervened and the Indian embassy in Iran provided them with supplies.
Captain Johnson Charles, secretary of the Meenavar Orunganaipu Sangam in Kanyakumari, said that nearly all the fishermen have boarded the vessel which is likely to sail on Thursday evening or Friday morning.
This comes as TN Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar in a statement said that about 700 stranded fishermen, who had gone to Iran on contract basis for fishing, will be brought back to India soon by a ship.
He said the fishermen got stranded there as flights were cancelled owing to the spread of COVID-19 and the Tamil Nadu government has taken steps to bring them back.
Jayakumar said a ship will bring back the fishermen to Tuticorin port. The fishermen got visas for the United Arab Emirates from their agents. Since the UAE has an agreement over selling fish caught in Iran in Dubai, these fishermen are hired from the UAE on visit visas by Iranian boat owners. They were left in the lurch as COVID-19 spread in Iran.
Meanwhile, some fishermen are still awaiting clearance fearing that they will be left out. "I am waiting for clearance along with 68 other fishermen. They said they have space for 40 more fishermen. If they provide us a little space, we can squeeze in," said A Selvaraj, a fisherman from Nagercoil district.