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Captain Jasprit Chawla (left) and chief officer Syan Chetan.
The jailing of the vessel’s two senior officers, after initially being found innocent, has outraged the international shipping industry.
Representatives for the vessel’s master, Jasprit Chawla, and chief engineer, Syam Chetan, are seeking bail pending an appeal at South Korea’s supreme court.
National Union of Seafarers of India general secretary Abdulgani Serang said there would be a call for a boycott by Indian seafarers of ships calling at South Korean ports if there was no positive news over the bail application.
He told Lloyd’s List today that the boycott, which would cover both Indian and foreign-flagged ships, would start on February 1.
It follows a public boycott of South Korean, especially Samsung, products by Indian consumers which Mr Serang was already having an effect on sales.
The call for the port boycott would be made by the union alliance, which includes the National Union of Seafarers of India, the Maritime Union of India and the Merchant Navy Officers Association.
Mr Serang said the union “respected South Korea’s judicial system” but felt there was no other alternative.
He added that the seafarers union are also organising weekly demonstrations starting this Saturday in major cities across India to raise public awareness of the plight of the Hebei Two and South Korea’s involvement in the continued incarceration of the two men.
“We want to take the issue to the masses,” he said.
Demonstrations will be held in cities including Mumbai, Delhi and Cochin and follow rallies in Mumbai and Chennai last month including one in Mumbai where protestors smashed Samsung products.
The International Transport Workers Federation also confirmed it was working with shipowner groups, including Intertanko and Intercargo, for a rally outside the South Korean embassy in London on January 23 to protest against the jailing of the Hebei Two.
ITF spokesman Sam Dawson told Lloyd’s List that permission for the event was still being sought from the Metropolitan Police and that further details would be released assuming the go-ahead was given by the police. Senior union officials from India have been invited to attend.
The Hebei Two were jailed on December 10 at an appeal court hearing for not doing enough to prevent a massive oil spill after the anchored Hebei Spirit was holed by a drifting crane barge owned by Samsung Heavy Industries.
Capt Chawla was jailed for 18 months and Mr Chetan for eight months after being cleared on June 23 at a district court.
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