The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) on Monday said that more than 3,217 Indian seafarers have been safely repatriated from the Gulf region so far, including 61 seafarers in the last 96 hours, while port operations across India continue without any congestion or disruption.
Addressing an interministerial media briefing on the evolving situation in West Asia, Mukesh Mangal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, said all Indian seafarers in the region remain safe and maritime operations are continuing uninterrupted.
He informed that the Marshall Islands-flagged LPG carrier Symi, carrying 19,965 metric tonnes of LPG cargo for India along with 21 foreign crew members, successfully berthed at Kandla Port on May 16 and completed discharge operations smoothly.
“As briefed in the last media interaction on 14th May, the Marshall Islands-flagged LPG carrier Symi, which was carrying 19,965 metric tonnes of LPG cargo for India with 21 foreign crew members onboard, berthed at Kandla on 16th May late at night and completed discharge of the entire cargo,” Mangal said.
He added that the Ministry continues to coordinate closely with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian missions abroad and maritime stakeholders to ensure seafarer welfare and uninterrupted shipping operations.
Mangal further stated that no incident involving Indian-flagged vessels or foreign-flagged ships carrying Indian crew members has been reported in the past 96 hours.
Providing an update on the ministry’s maritime control room, he said the facility has so far handled 9,702 calls and over 21,000 emails from seafarers, their families and maritime stakeholders. In the last 96 hours alone, the control room received 436 calls and 996 emails.
“Port operations across India remain normal, with no congestion reported,” he added, underscoring the government’s continued monitoring of maritime activity amid regional tensions in West Asia.
