MARGAO: Stating that seafarers are key workers as per the declaration by the government of India Goan Seamen Association of India (GSAI), on Friday urged the Union Government to consider a moratorium period for at least six months from making payments to pay their loans for those seafarers who are in difficult situations from financial hardships.
GSAI urged the Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance, Government of India, Shripad Naik, Minister of Shipping, Government of India and others to look into the matter at the earliest.
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Frank Viegas, President of GSAI, said seafarers are key workers as per the declaration by the government of India and have contributed a lot to the economy and are the backbone of economic development.
“During Covid-19 Pandemic, seafarers performed one of the toughest jobs in the world by making difficult sacrifices and putting in real hard work,” said Viegas.
He further said as the world is gradually becoming aware of the hard work mariners perform on ships, the difficult financial condition of the industry and the rapidly changing norms and regulations compounded by higher expectations than normal and high levels of stress are forcing many seafarers into distress conditions.
“Seafarers have demonstrated their professionalism by the functioning of global supply chains to ensure the resilience of our national economy, and the importance of facilitating the safe and efficient operation of the maritime transportation system which moves around 90 per cent of global trade by means of export and import”, he claimed.
GSAI claimed that due to this pandemic, many seafarers are still jobless and with the resumption of the cruise industry on the lower side it’s become a tough time to cope with regular monthly instalments.
