Thanks to the SUR the Russian seafarer in critical condition was hospitalized in Shanghai

The Seafarers Union of Russia appealed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Shanghai and the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation with a request to provide maximum assistance in overcoming the obstacles encountered. In the port of Shanghai the Chinese authorities, under the pretext of the Covid-19 pandemic, refused emergency medical assistance to the Russian crewmember of the m/v  BBC St. Petersburg (IMO 9736200, flag of Antigua and Barbuda). The seafarer suffered from a sharp toothache resulted in a flux with the threat of sepsis. According to the doctor’s remote opinion, these complications posed a threat to the life and health of the crewmember and he needeed urgent surgical intervention. Despite this fact the Chinese authorities insisted on a two-week quarantine before evacuating a crewmember from the vessel, and also referred to the absence of a free chamber, which the seafarer would need to undergo compulsory quarantine after the operation. 

«There was a real threat to his life but a lot of time was lost as the seafarer fell ill on May 7 so every minute counted. However, even the critical condition of the seafarer was not an argument for the Chinese authorities, as well as existing international standards.  In violation of the  international conventions ratified by China such as  MLC-2006 and the Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), the Chinese authorities do not gave permission for the medical evacuation of the seafarer”, says the chairman of the SUR, Yuriy Sukhorukov.

Currently the seafarer has been evacuated from the ship and hospitalized. Captain Oleg Lyapin and crew of m/v  BBC St. Petersburg «expresses its gratitude to all parties who helped to save the life of a seafarer: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Transport, the SUR, the Russian consulate, the Russian embassy in China, as well as international organizations- IMO, ILO, ITF».

Earlier, the SUR had already applied to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Transport with a request to assist in the urgent medical evacuation of a Russian seafarer with a diagnosed stroke in the port of Belavan, Indonesia, where the country's authorities also refused to help a crewmember under the pretext of Covid-19. After the intervention of Russian and international organizations it took 4 days for resolve the problem and as a result the seafarer was taken to the hospital and received the necessary medical care.