Vizhinjam Crew Change Restarts as Disabled Tanker Repaired at Anchor
Crew change operations have restarted at the outer anchorage of Vizhinjam, near Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, on India’s south-west coast. Vizhinjam lies close to the southern tip of India, only a few nautical miles from the busy east–west international shipping route between the Suez Canal, the Gulf and the Far East.
The latest operation involved Atlantis I, a Curacao-flagged crude oil tanker sailing from Singapore to Khor Fakkan in the UAE. The ship suffered an engine failure off the Indian coast and informed the authorities. Officials of the Kerala Maritime Board directed assistance to the ship at the outer anchorage. A local crew-change and emergency support company took spare parts out by boat, and repairs were completed with the tanker at anchor.
During the stop, two Indian seafarers joined the ship and two signed off. The joining crew were taken out by boat and lifted on board in a personnel basket hoisted by the ship’s crane, according to a report published on 6 November.
From the CrewMirror Blog
This is the second Indian crew change at Vizhinjam since permission was granted for such operations at the outer anchorage. The first took place in the last week of October. Vizhinjam was an important crew-change point during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the facility was later stopped because of security concerns and regulatory restrictions.
The restart gives ships passing the Indian coast a convenient place to relieve crew and receive emergency support, and gives Indian seafarers, especially those from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, a joining and sign-off point close to home.
CrewMirror Takeaway
Boat and basket transfers at an open anchorage carry real risk, so seafarers joining or leaving ships this way should insist on a proper risk assessment, lifejackets and a calm-weather window before the transfer begins.
