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Kin worried about safety of 16 Indian sailors held hostage by Guinean Navy, seek govt help for their release
The families of the Indian sailors said that they were worried because the Guinean Navy was going to hand over the ship crew to Nigeria.
The families of 16 Indian sailors being held hostage by the Guinean Navy are worried about the safety of their loved ones and want the government to expedite efforts for their release.
The sailors are in captivity of the navy of Equatorial Guinea, a country on the west coast of Africa, for the last three months.
Gaurav Arora also known as Roshan, resident of the Govind Nagar area in Kanpur, is among the 16 Indian crew members of the ship that has been detained.
Gaurav’s sister Komal said he had recently joined the Merchant Navy as a third officer. He was on a Norway-based ship “MV Heroic Idun” that reached AKPO Offshore, a conventional gas development located in Nigeria on August 8, when he was held hostage along with other crew members of the ship.
The ship had anchored on the international maritime boundary of Nigeria on August 8. The ship’s crew of 26 people, including 16 Indians, was waiting for their turn when the Guinea Navy detained the ship and the crew the next day on suspicion that they had come to steal oil, she said.
The family that lives in Govind Nagar’s Labour Colony, said the ship’s crew had 16 Indians, six Sri Lankans, one each from Poland and the Philippines and two others. Manoj Arora, Gaurav’s father, said the shipping company hasn’t yet informed him or any other member of family.
Gaurav further told the family the shipping company had earlier informed the crew it had paid the penalty levied by the Guinean Navy and that they would be released in a week’s time.
“My son called us on Saturday to tell things are becoming complicated and it was unlikely he would ever make it out; he was worried that entire crew will be handed over to Nigeria,” he said.
Five of them were taken to a hotel and 11 kept on the ship, Komal claimed.
She said that the Indians may be falsely implicated and the Guinean Navy will hand over them to Nigeria.
“It’s a tough time for us. We are really worried about the safety of my brother and the 15 Indians of the ship crew,” Komal said.
“We all know how sensitive the place is. The government must intervene, since we can’t predict how the Nigerian government would treat Indians once the handover is done. It must be stopped,” Komal appealed.
