NEW DELHI: A plea was filed before the Delhi HC on Thursday on behalf of 16 Indian seafarers reportedly stranded in Iran, seeking urgent consular services and their repatriation to India.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav took up the petition filed through the seafarers’ family members and directed the Central government to file a status report by January 21, the next date of hearing.
The petition claimed that the seafarers were aboard a vessel carrying “very low sulphur fuel oil” when the ship’s master sent a distress message stating that the vessel was being pursued by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. The ship was sailing in international waters at the time, the plea said.
It further alleged that the Iranian navy boarded the vessel, assaulted and manhandled the crew members, and detained them. According to the petition, 10 of the seafarers have been taken to jail, while the remaining six are still on board the vessel under guarded supervision and confined to a mess room.
Advocate Jaya Bajpai, appearing for the petitioners, told the court that all 16 seafarers were recruited through various RPSL-licensed agencies, while the operator of the vessel was Glory International FZ LLC/Prime Tankers LLC, Dubai.
The plea has sought directions for providing consular access through the Consul of India in Bandar Abbas, including medical, legal and financial assistance, as well as boarding, lodging and other necessary consular services, until the seafarers are repatriated to India.
It also urged the court to direct the Government of India to take up the matter with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the repatriation of the 16 seafarers and for the expeditious disposal of the case.
“Seafarers who are detained in a foreign port should be dealt with promptly under due process of law with appropriate consular protection,” the petition said.
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