Crew stopped from deboarding ships at Kolkata port amid corona

The Kolkata Port Trust on Friday said it has stopped issuing shore passes to crew members of all ships as the coronavirus threat intensified.

The decision means no crew, whether Indians or foreign nationals are being allowed to deboard after the ships have berthed at Kolkata port.

"We have stopped issuing shore passes to all vessels be it coastal or foreign, since the last two weeks," Kolkata Port Trust chairman Vinit Kumar said.

The directive is the same for the crew of barges coming here from other Indian ports and Bangladesh.

There is, however, no restriction on the movement of ships.

The government and the airlines have restricted flight movement to some countries as a precautionary measure.

The port's cargo handling so far has not been affected except for iron ore exports to China.

The port has also set up isolation units at Kolkata and Haldia.

Since January 29, we have screened 8,100 odd crew members of 470 ships, Kumar said.

The chairman said the port has created isolation beds and taking measures to identify some buildings that may be used if the situation demands.

The shipping ministry has banned the entry of all cruise ships into Indian ports.

The passenger ship which operates between Port Blair and Kolkata has not been affected but the passengers are being screened.

The KoPT said that it was adhering to all Standard Operating Procedures issued by the Ministry of Health and Shipping Ministry.