Forty-eight hours after it went missing in the pirate-infested Gulf of Guinea, there is no trace of a merchant ship carrying 22 Indians. The India authorities are making all efforts to track. No contact has been established with the vessel so far and there have been no reports of a ransom call, said sources.
It is suspected that the MT Marine Express carrying 13,500 tonne of gasoline may have been hijacked by pirates. “The region has a history of piracy and it may be a case of suspected piracy. All communication with the vessel has been lost, and right now we do not know if a ransom call has been made,” an official of the Shipping Ministry said.
While the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the Indian mission in Abuja is in touch with authorities in Nigeria and Benin, the Directorate General (DG) of Shipping said that as per the Indian Marine Act, the pay and emoluments will continue to be disbursed to their family members.
“A merchant vessel, Marine Express (oil tanker) owned by Mumbai-based Anglo Eastern Ship Management company, with 22 Indian nationals onboard, is presumably missing off the coast of Benin in the Gulf of Guinea,” MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet.
“Our Mission in Abuja is in touch with the authorities in Benin and Nigeria for their help in locating the ship and is constantly monitoring the situation. A 24-hour helpline number set up by the Embassy for information on those missing is +234-9070343860,” Kumar said.
DG (Engineering) Shipping B Ratna Shekhar told The Pioneer that while the Directorate’s DG Shipping role is limited to the Indian territorial waters, in such cases the DG ensures that the remuneration rules are not violated. “The External Affairs Ministry is making all efforts and we are in constant touch with them. So far we have not got any information about the missing ship,” said Shekhar.
A senior Shipping Ministry official said that a team of Shipping Directorate in coordination with the MEA is in touch with family members of the mariners. Relatives of one of the sailors Sree Unni, a resident of Kasargode in north Kerala, said the Anglo Eastern Ship Management informed them that they lost contact with the ship on Jan 31. Worried relatives have sought the help of Ministry of Shipping.
This is the second ship to go missing in the last one month. In January, another vessel MT Barret had gone missing off the coast of Benin and six days later crew, most of them Indians, were released after reportedly paying ransom.
In a message to the family members of the missing sailors, the Anglo Eastern Ship Management said the crew’s safety was its top priority. “We regret that contact has been lost with the AE-managed MT Marine Express while at Cotonou, Benin. last contact was on February 1. Authorities have been alerted and are responding. Our top priority is the safety of the crew, whose families have been contacted,” it said.
The ship was anchored at Cotonou, Benin before it went missing from anchorage in the Gulf of Guinea. The Panama-registered vessel was carrying 13,500 tonnes of petrol worth $8.1 million.