Sailor Jumps From Tanker Vessel In Australia, Prompts Ship Inspection

A sailor was found clinging to a buoy 5 km from Port Phillip Bay in Australia. The 31-year-old seafarer who hails from Georgia was rescued by the police at around 8 pm on Sunday evening. The police were notified by the harbour control.

The sailor had to be placed under quarantine in a hotel while authorities screened the oil tanker he was part of. The Australian Border Force along with the Department of Health has taken him to Williamstown for medical assessment. He has been transferred back to the hotel for quarantine after the medical assessment was done.

Meanwhile, all the police officers who had accompanied the seafarers have been sent to isolation. It has been informed by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority that the sailor had jumped into the water from MV Kanpur, a Liberian flagged vessel.

Image for Representation Purpose only – Photograph by Sergio Ferrazzano

The oil tanker had been an anchor when it happened. The ship will be coming to port on Wednesday when it will be inspected by the AMSA.

Meanwhile, the ITF has revealed that they are working in tandem with authorities in order to find the cause of the seafarer’s unusual action so that he and the rest of the crew can be supported with what they need.

Once the ship berths, there will be inspection by the representatives of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, Border Force, Department of Health and Human Services Victoria, and the ITF.

The team will be talking to the crew and they have already initiated discussion with the ship’s Cyprus based manager, the Columbia Ship Management.

The authorities have stated that they would not be disclosing anything further until they have spoken to the crew and determined the cause of the action.

The ship has been anchored there since 2nd May and has visited the UAE, Kuwait and New Zealand before arriving at Port Phillip Bay, which shows online tracking data.

At the time of the jump, the temperature in Williamstown had been 16 degrees along with light winds. The water temperature was also the same when the sailor had jumped into the water at 8 pm.

At present Australia has banned all foreign nationals from entering the country but the international maritime crew have been exempted from that. However, they have to undergo a 14 day quarantine period upon arrival.

The Mission to Seafarers Victoria branch has termed the incident distressing for the crew.

It has been a difficult time for the crew who have to survive weeks and months without any connection to their families and getting news of them is difficult if there isn’t a great WiFi connection. This has often put them in desperate situations, revealed the organization.

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Source: Maritime Shipping News