India out of reach for three stowaways on coal vessel
PARADIP: The immigration and port registration officers of Paradip have served notice and directed the captain of Hong Kong vessel MV Great Sheng Wen not to disembark the three stowaways from Ghana at Paradip or any other Indian port.
The stowaways were found hiding in the vessel, potentially breaching security measures, as per section 16 (i) of the Registration of Foreigners Rules, 1992. Sources said MV Great Sheng Wen, which has 20 crew members, berthed at Paradip port on Friday. The vessel also had the three Ghanaian citizens on board.
The ship had loaded coal in bulk at Kavkaz port in Russia, discharged coal at Visakhapatnam port and arrived at Paradip to unload nearly 10,000 metric tonne of coal for ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India Limited. The vessel’s journey to Paradip port included stops at Kavkaz port in Russia, Turkey, the Suez Canal in Egypt and Visakhapatnam in India.
The shipping agent for the vessel, Atlantic Global Shipping Pvt Ltd, informed the deputy conservator of Paradip on the presence of the three stowaways from Ghana.
The agent also provided a list of the stowaways, their statements and a statement of fact regarding the discovery, certificates of identity and other related documents. Copies of the documents were forwarded to the deputy commissioner of Customs, Paradip, commandant of Indian Coast Guard, immigration officer at Paradip and the commandant of CISF, Paradip for information and necessary action.
