Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Nov 8: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday to get involved in the situation as the families of 16 Indian sailors, including three from Kerala, who were arrested in Equatorial Guinea hoped the Indian government would facilitate their swift release.
Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to the prime minister asking him to instruct Indian diplomatic missions there to “proactively intervene and support the prompt release of the Norwegian vessel MT Heroic Idun and her crew who have been detained since August 12” in Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria.
The Chief Minister said in his letter that the ship was detained by an Equatorial Guinean naval vessel on August 12 in international seas and that, according to reports, a total of 26 crew members, including 16 Indians, are being held as hostages.
“Among the 16 seafarers, three are from Kerala. The vessel has been held unlawfully,” he added.
Vijayan also asserted that the shipping company was prepared to pay the fee even though the ship did not engage in any illegal activity in order to facilitate the seafarers’ early release.
He said that the crew’s physical and emotional health would be impacted by the “unexpected delay” in their release, and that their continued presence in the port, which is hazardous, “would also put their lives in jeopardy.”
The communication follows the widespread distribution of videos and pictures that the detained Kerala sailors transmitted to their families on social media and other outlets.
