Sailors and crew members of Australian ships carrying coal have been stranded at anchor for nearly five months off the Caofeidian port on the Chinese coastline.

According to commercial tracking data, crews on an estimated 70 ships loaded with seven million to 10 million tons of Australian coal have not been allowed to disembark in China.

China has cited&nbsp;factors such as&nbsp;the coronavirus pandemic and environmental issues behind its decision.

An estimated 1500 seafarers are stranded in Chinese harbours “essentially as pawns of war”, as per&nbsp;Dean Summers from Maritime Union of Australia.

The crews are held hostage to import restrictions imposed on Australian coal as part of its wider geopolitical feud with China. As a result,&nbsp;hundreds of millions of dollars of paid-for coal hanging in the balance.

Companies keen to offload thermal coal to their Chinese buyers have kept the ships at anchor hoping for a resolution, but that option disappeared when China formally banned Australian coal imports, throwing the $14 billion export industry into turmoil.

Onboard the Anastasia are 18 seafarers,16 of them Indian, one Russian and one Filipino&nbsp;-&nbsp;forced to work at sea for far longer than their current anchorage, with crew clocking up to 20 months as ports refuse to let them disembark for fear of spreading contagion.

For as far back as a half year, Virendrasinh Bhosale, a sailor from India, has been caught on a hunk of metal drifting off China's eastern coast.&nbsp;

He is edgy to see his 5-year-old child. "Consistently I long for him and I awaken crying in bed," he said in a statement given to The New York Times.&nbsp;

Bhosale is one of 23 team individuals stuck on board a payload transport, the Jag Anand, off the port of Jingtang in Hebei Province since June. The boat is conveying around 160,000 tons of Australian coal however has not been conceded freedom to empty its load.&nbsp;

Chinese port authorities have informed anchored crews that individuals can only go onshore if a doctor certifies a specific medical emergency.

But according to&nbsp;Gaurav Singh, the navigating officer of the Anastasia,&nbsp;another ship languishing at a Chinese port, Caofeidian, the crew are sick and have injuries that have gone untreated for months.

Singh said in a statement to the Sydney Herald, “We haven’t made any mistakes; we have not committed any crimes. We are getting punished for things we have not done. Why should we suffer for the diplomatic war between the two countries?”

A&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/solidarity_and" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">Twitter account</a>&nbsp;documenting the plight of the Anastasia and the Jag Anand has sprung up. Relatives of the men have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.change.org/p/narendra-modi-amit-shah-s-jayshankar-indian-sailors-in-a-floating-prison?utm_source=share_petition&amp;utm_medium=custom_url&amp;recruited_by_id=b8ab2410-f805-11ea-9b9a-ab59dc725ea0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">started a petition</a>&nbsp;to bring them home.

Australia's Resource Minister Keith Pitt said&nbsp;the dispute was mainly “a matter for the companies involved.”&nbsp;

Meanwhile,&nbsp;Simon Birmingham&nbsp;Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment in the Morrison Government, said&nbsp;his department was making “representations” to its Chinese counterparts but noted that the Australian exporters had already been paid, meaning the transaction “has predominantly already taken place, from an Australian perspective.”

The stranded vessels fly international flags but are caught in a web of multinational companies, contractors and subcontractors — a tangle of competing interests that complicates the situation.

Last year, according to government statistics, Australia exported nearly $10.4 billion worth of coal to China. Though that coal helps fuel China’s voracious economic needs, deteriorating political ties have choked off one conduit.

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Sailors and crew members of Australian ships carrying coal have been stranded at anchor for nearly five months off the Caofeidian port on the Chinese coastline. According to commercial tracking data, crews on an estimated 70 ships loaded with seven million to 10 million tons of Australian coal have not been allowed to disembark in China.

Sailors and crew members of Australian ships carrying coal have been stranded at anchor for nearly five months off the Caofeidian port on the Chinese coastline. According to commercial tracking data, crews on an estimated 70 ships loaded with seven million to 10 million tons of Australian coal have not been allowed to disembark in China. China has cited factors such as the coronavirus pandemic and environmental issues behind its decision. An estimated 1500 seafarers are stranded in Chinese harbours “essentially as pawns of war”, as per Dean Summers from Maritime Union of Australia. The crews are held hostage to import restrictions imposed on Australian coal as part of its wider geopolitical feud with China. As a result, hundreds of millions of dollars of paid-for coal hanging in the balance. Companies keen to offload thermal coal to their Chinese buyers have kept the ships at anchor hoping for a resolution, but that option disappeared when China formally banned Australian coal imports, throwing the $14 billion export industry into turmoil. Onboard the Anastasia are 18 seafarers,16 of them Indian, one Russian and one Filipino - forced to work at sea for far longer than their current anchorage, with crew clocking up to 20 months as ports refuse to let them disembark for fear of spreading contagion. For as far back as a half year, Virendrasinh Bhosale, a sailor from India, has been caught on a hunk of metal drifting off China's eastern coast. He is edgy to see his 5-year-old child. "Consistently I long for him and I awaken crying in bed," he said in a statement given to The New York Times. Bhosale is one of 23 team individuals stuck on board a payload transport, the Jag Anand, off the port of Jingtang in Hebei Province since June. The boat is conveying around 160,000 tons of Australian coal however has not been conceded freedom to empty its load. Chinese port authorities have informed anchored crews that individuals can only go onshore if a doctor certifies a specific medical emergency. But according to Gaurav Singh, the navigating officer of the Anastasia, another ship languishing at a Chinese port, Caofeidian, the crew are sick and have injuries that have gone untreated for months. Singh said in a statement to the Sydney Herald, “We haven’t made any mistakes; we have not committed any crimes. We are getting punished for things we have not done. Why should we suffer for the diplomatic war between the two countries?” A Twitter account documenting the plight of the Anastasia and the Jag Anand has sprung up. Relatives of the men have started a petition to bring them home. Australia's Resource Minister Keith Pitt said the dispute was mainly “a matter for the companies involved.” Meanwhile, Simon Birmingham Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment in the Morrison Government, said his department was making “representations” to its Chinese counterparts but noted that the Australian exporters had already been paid, meaning the transaction “has predominantly already taken place, from an Australian perspective.” The stranded vessels fly international flags but are caught in a web of multinational companies, contractors and subcontractors — a tangle of competing interests that complicates the situation. Last year, according to government statistics, Australia exported nearly $10.4 billion worth of coal to China. Though that coal helps fuel China’s voracious economic needs, deteriorating political ties have choked off one conduit.

'Pawns of war': Sailors, crew members of Australian ships stranded in China

A verbal war has been going on between China and Australia over the origin of the novel coronavirus that has taken more than&nbsp;402,699 lives and has infected 7 million people globally.

The spat began between two trading partners when Australia&nbsp;called for an international enquiry into the origin of the novel coronavirus, alleging that the virus probably originated from a wildlife market in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

China replied to this accusation by calling this to be Australia's&nbsp;"petty tricks". Chinese ambassador to Australia went on to warn a possibility of Chinese population boycotting Australian products if the latter continue pursuing the investigation.&nbsp;China is by far Australia's biggest export market, taking more than 30% of Australia's exports by value.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/china-exploiting-george-floyds-death-for-political-gain-mike-pompeo-304106">Also watch|&nbsp;China exploiting George Floyd's death for political gain: Mike Pompeo&nbsp;</a>

Now, Australia has stated that China has been unresponsive&nbsp;its weeks-long pleas to ease tensions.

"Unfortunately, our requests for a discussion have so far been met negatively," Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham told a local broadcaster.&nbsp;"That's disappointing."

China has also, following this accusation, warned its population against travelling to Australia, citing possibility of racial discrimination and violence. China has also&nbsp;suspended beef imports from four of Australia's largest meat processors and imposed hefty tariffs on imports of barley. However, the officials have stated this to be unrelated to the ongoing verbal war.

China has not yet responded to this accusation by Australia.

(With inputs from Reuters)

A verbal war has been going on between China and Australia over the origin of the novel coronavirus that has taken more than 402,699 lives and has infected 7 million people globally.

A verbal war has been going on between China and Australia over the origin of the novel coronavirus that has taken more than 402,699 lives and has infected 7 million people globally. The spat began between two trading partners when Australia called for an international enquiry into the origin of the novel coronavirus, alleging that the virus probably originated from a wildlife market in the Chinese city of Wuhan. China replied to this accusation by calling this to be Australia's "petty tricks". Chinese ambassador to Australia went on to warn a possibility of Chinese population boycotting Australian products if the latter continue pursuing the investigation. China is by far Australia's biggest export market, taking more than 30% of Australia's exports by value. Also watch| China exploiting George Floyd's death for political gain: Mike Pompeo Now, Australia has stated that China has been unresponsive its weeks-long pleas to ease tensions. "Unfortunately, our requests for a discussion have so far been met negatively," Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham told a local broadcaster. "That's disappointing." China has also, following this accusation, warned its population against travelling to Australia, citing possibility of racial discrimination and violence. China has also suspended beef imports from four of Australia's largest meat processors and imposed hefty tariffs on imports of barley. However, the officials have stated this to be unrelated to the ongoing verbal war. China has not yet responded to this accusation by Australia. (With inputs from Reuters)

Australia says China unresponsive to its pleas to ease tensions

The Chinese Embassy in Australia says the Australian officials are playing 'petty tricks'. Meanwhile, The Editor of Global Times has described Australia as a 'chewing gum stuck on the sole of China's shoes'.

Gravitas: Why China and Australia are locked in a diplomatic spat