After fighting between Ukrainian and Russian soldiers erupted approximately 2 kilometres from the port on Monday, 74 Indian sailors working aboard five ships abandoned their ships at Ukraine’s Mykolaiv Port in the Black Sea. “We arrived here for loading on February 22nd when there was no conflict.” The sea lane was stopped after the declaration of war,” said a sailor.
The crew kept in touch with the Indian Embassy, which arranged for them to take a bus to Moldova, which is around 190 kilometres from Mykolaiv Port.
Captain Sanjay Prashar, the Sun Aquamarine’s crew manager and the founder and CEO of VR Maritime Services Pvt. Ltd, who was in constant contact with the crew, said the decision to leave ship was made after receiving authorization from the owner, who wanted to secure the crew’s safe return.
“The Ministry of External Affairs made the decision to evacuate the sailors, and the Indian government arranged for a bus,” he stated.
The ships were placed in a ‘cold lay up’ and anchored in a safe location. “Once the situation returns to normal, the warships can be started in 15 minutes,” Captain Prashar stated.
“The Indian embassy dispatched three buses.” The buses also housed at least 45 Indian sailors from a Hong Kong vessel, as well as a few foreign sailors, he claimed.
The buses have arrived in Moldova, and the sailors are no longer in danger. “They must take another bus to Bucharest from Moldova.” They will arrive in Bucharest on Tuesday morning, where they will take a flight to India, according to Prashar. According to him, 140 ships are trapped in Ukraine. Despite the fact that the port of Tirunelveli was not captured, a sailor from Tirunelveli reported sailors were able to watch the combat between Russian and Ukrainian soldiers.
