A day after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) seized a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, reports have emerged that four of the 17 crew onboard 'MSC Aries' were from Kerala.
India confirmed on Saturday that 17 Indians were onboard an Israeli-linked ship and that the government was in touch with authorities in Tehran for the early release of the crew. There were a total of 25 crew members in the team, which also included Filipino, Pakistani, Russian and Estonian nationals.
The four Malayalis have been identified as Ann Tessa Joseph from Thrissur, Shyamnath Telamparambath from Kozhikode, Sumesh from Palakkad and V V Dhanesh from Wayanad, according to Manorama Online.
"We are in touch with the Iranian authorities through diplomatic channels, both in Tehran and in Delhi, to ensure security, welfare and early release of Indian nationals," it said.
However, the families of the Indian crew members said they lost touch with their loved ones since Saturday evening.
The IRNA said the Guard would take the vessel into Iranian territorial waters. The shipping company MSC, which operates the Aries, too said it was working "with the relevant authorities" for its safe return and the wellbeing of its 25 crew.
The Portuguese-flagged vessel is operated by the Zodiac Maritime Shipping Company, which is partly owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer. The ship had turned off its tracking data due to its connections with Israelis.
The ship was reportedly coming to India's Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust through the United Arab Emirates. However, there is no official confirmation of it.
JUST IN | There are 17 Indians among the 25 crew onboard the Portuguese flagged and #Israel affiliated cargo vessel MSC Aries that was seized by #Iran in the Gulf of Hormuz. Other crew members include, four Filipinos, 2 Pakistanis, one Russian and one Estonian, reports @dperi84.… pic.twitter.com/A6kWEpfUIv
— The Hindu (@the_hindu) April 13, 2024
Meanwhile, a video purported to be of the hijacking incident showed IRGC commandos descending onto a stack of containers sitting on the deck of the vessel.
A crew member on the ship could be heard saying: "Don’t come out" before asking his colleagues to move to the ship’s bridge as more commandos come down on the deck. One commando can be seen kneeling above the others to provide them with potential cover fire.
The choppers involved appeared to be a Soviet-era Mil Mi-17 helicopter, which both the IRGC and the Iranian-backed Houthis of Yemen have used in the past to conduct commando raids on ships.
Following the seizure of the cargo ship by the Iranian military, Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on the international community to immediately declare the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation. "The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps have seized a Portuguese civilian cargo ship, belonging to an EU member, claiming Israeli ownership," he said on 'X'.
"I call on the European Union and the free world to immediately declare the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization and to sanction Iran now," he added.
