VASCO: Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Chemicals and Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed the status of vaccination to the seafarers, on Monday.
Mandaviya said that the shipping industry should not suffer due to non-vaccination and emphasised that all efforts should be made to get the seafarers inoculated before joining their scheduled duties onboard the vessels.
In a press release, the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) stated, “India plays a very significant role in the global shipping industry. There have been demands from many quarters to accord ‘priority’ to seafarers in the vaccination drive in view of the nature of their work. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (PS&W) also coordinated actively with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to give priority to the seafarers in COVID vaccination.
Due to the recent intervention by the Ministry, Major Ports have started vaccination centres. Six Major Ports which include Mumbai Port Trust, Cochin Port Trust, Chennai Port Trust, Visakhapatnam Port Trust, Kolkata Port Trust and Tuticorin Port Trust have started vaccinating seafarers at their respective port hospital. Moreover, a private hospital in Kerala has also been roped in for vaccinating the seafarers.
Seafaring Unions/Associations such as MASSA, FOSMA and NUSI have also successfully organised special camps for vaccination.
Apart from these measures, Ministry of PS&W has been making efforts to take the State governments onboard for including seafarers in their State’s ‘priority’ list, and Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Goa have already provided such status.
