Families of the 16 Indian sailors who have been held hostage by the Guinea Navy for about past three months have sought the intervention of Indian government to secure their safe release.
It was on August 8 that the Norway-based ship 'M T Heroic Idun' reached the AKPO offshore terminal in Nigeria to fill crude oil. The ship anchored on the international maritime boundary of Nigeria after they were informed of some delay due to technical issues, OnManorama reported.
When they noticed an approaching boat, they moved toward the international maritime channel. However, the Guinea Navy detained the ship and the crew the next day, suspecting that the vessel had arrived to steal oil, the publication reported.
The crew members issued a statement seeking government intervention for their release. Quoting the statement, Hindustan Times reported that the ship has a total crew of 26 persons including 16 Indians, eight Sri Lankans, one Polish and one Filipino national.
Union Minister of State for External Affairs V.Muraleedharan said that the government is in talks with concerned authorities for their release. “We hope to bring the crew to their homelands directly from Guinea. We have also held talks with the Government of Nigeria,” OnManorama reported quoting the minister.
The Kerala government assured the family of V.Vijith, one of the crew members and brother of Vismaya, the young woman from Kerala who killed self over dowry harassment, that it would intervene for the safe release of the crew members.
Meanwhile, the official Twitter handle of the Indian Embassy in Equatorial Guinea said, “This Embassy and our High Commission in Abuja are closely working with authorities of Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria for the early release of crew members of MV Heroic Idun. All crew members are safe and those in the Detention Centre have been shifted to the ship.”
