A group of Russian seafarers have taken control of a Thun Tankers newbuilding in China in a sign of better times to come for shipping.
The Swedish owner said the 18,600-dwt Thun Liffey was delivered by China Merchants Jinling Shipyard on Thursday.
The process to get to that point was an epic struggle, however.
Chief commercial officer Joakim Lund told TradeWinds the crew had to receive visas to visit China and these were only obtainable if they could certify they had not travelled to a European Union country recently.
They then caught the last flight into China before it closed its airspace about three weeks ago.
"On arrival, they spent 14 days in quarantine separately, getting medical checks twice per day in their hotel rooms," Lund said.
"One week ago they got out of quarantine, and continued to have regular check ups."
When they were seen as not infected, they could then take over the ship.
Long voyage ahead
The crew now faces a 60 to 70-day voyage to Europe to join the rest of the vessels run by Thun and its partners in the Gothia Tanker Alliance.
Thun vessels have been closed communities as far as possible, Lund said.
"We've isolated as much as we can and avoided ship visits," he added. "We've not had anyone get ill."
He added: "The big problem for us and other companies has been crew changes. We're always working to ease up the possibility of relieving our seafarers.
"We need to prioritise our crew, give them VIP treatment. We are so proud and thankful that they are doing all this."
Lund added: "That we can take delivery of a ship in China is a small sign that we are moving in the right direction."
He said the yard is now at 90% capacity as workers return.
It is building three others ships for Thun and its alliance partners.
The fifth is due for a sea trial on 21 April, with delivery set for May.
