Indian ship management and crewing companies are resorting to charter flights to move seafarers to and from ports overseas. This move is likely to bring some business to troubled private airlines, such as SpiceJet, that were hit by a two-month long restrictions on air travel to combat coronavirus.
With international flights yet to re-start operations to India, ship owners, managers and crewing companies have come under pressure to work out alternatives for resuming crew change – halted globally since February due to the pandemic – as a June 15 deadline set by the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) and the International Maritime Employers’ Council (IMEC) looms.
