New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Friday that an emergency certificate has been issued to Akshay Harish, an Indian seafarer who was disembarked from a merchant vessel at Iran’s Chabahar Port after he was told that his passport and documents were lost.
“The well-being and safety of our Indian seafarers is of high importance to us. Our mission in Tehran and our Consulate in Bandar Abbas has already reached out to this gentleman, Akshay Harish, a seafarer. He contacted our Consulate on 9th November, so as recent as just three days or four days ago,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during the bi-weekly media briefing in New Delhi.
Elaborating on the conversation the consular officer had with the seafarer, Jaiswal said, “From the conversation that our consular officer had with Mr. Akshay, it came to light that he had boarded this merchant vessel called Plan Marine in Japan in 2025. And when this particular vessel reached Chabahar Port in Iran, he was informed by the captain that his passport and CDC certificate – that is, the Continuous Discharge Certificate which all seafarers or mariners hold – these documents were lost, and therefore he was disembarked from the vessel.”
The MEA spokesperson said that the seafarer’s company was extending support to him and that the mission had reached out to the ship’s owner and agent.
“We also got to know that Mr. Akshay is receiving support from his company, and they are taking care of his boarding and lodging. Subsequently to the call, we got in touch with the owner of the ship, the agent, we gave them the details of the formalities to be completed for his documentation,” he said.
Stating that the seafarer is now ready to travel back home, Jaiswal said, “Accordingly, he applied for an emergency certificate and now that emergency certificate has been issued to Mr. Akshay. With that, now he is ready to travel back home and we are making all efforts so that he can return home to India, to Kerala, as early as possible. In this regard, we are in close touch with his employer.”
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