China’s repair hub turns away ships from India

Shipyards in the Chinese coastal city of Zhoushan have banned vessels that called at or changed crews in India in the last three months, citing concerns over rising infections in the South Asian nation.

Restrictions on vessels from India as well as Bangladesh are now in place, prohibiting their arrival for maintenance and repair work, said a spokesperson from shipping and logistics firm Wilhelmsen Group.

The company was informed of the ban by a shipyard operating in the city, the spokesperson said. Details were confirmed by an official from Zhoushan Xinya Shipyard Co.

Several shipyards in Zhoushan ranked among the world's top 10 repairers in terms of 2019 business volume, according to state-owned China Daily. The city is also home to some of the country's largest oil terminals and storage tank farms. The same restrictions do not extend to ships transporting cargoes from India, according to an official from Zhoushan port and oil traders who asked not to be identified.

The ban was put in place after 11 crew members tested positive for Covid19 in late-April, according to the shipyard official. The infected people were onboard a vessel that had docked at a local shipyard.

An official of Euronav BV, one of the world's largest independent crude ship owners, said in an interview on Thursday that thousands of seafarers risk being stuck at sea beyond the expiry of their contracts because of India's rising cases. Crew members from India make up about 15 per cent of the world's total.