The Visakhapatnam Port Trust allowed merchant vessel Fortune Hero to unload its cargo of calcined petroleum coke on Saturday after screening Chinese and Myanmar crew for coronavirus (COVID-19).
The vessel with a crew of 17 Chinese nationals and five Myanmarese nationals had arrived from China on Friday, but was kept waiting at the anchorage as a precautionary measure.
The vessel was berthed after the port health officer boarded it and carried out medical examination of the 22 crew and found that all of them were medically fit and healthy. The screening was completed at 4.50 pm after which the vessel began discharge of the cargo.
A VPT official stated that the standard operating procedure (SOP) as per Ministry of Health guidelines was being followed and all required equipment such as thermal guns, N-95 masks, gloves and other protective equipment had been supplied in abundance to all concerned.
