CHANDIGARH: 26-year-old Rikshit Chauhan from Palampur in Himachal Pradesh is among the three Indian nationals detained by the US after the Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera was seized by the US Coast Guard in the North Atlantic over alleged Venezuela links.
The oil tanker, earlier known as Bella 1, was operating under the Russian flag. It was reportedly carrying crude oil linked to Venezuela and was en route to Russia when it was intercepted.
There were 28 crew members on board the vessel, including three Indians, 20 Ukrainians, six Georgians and two Russians. All crew members are currently under detention by the US authorities, pending further legal and diplomatic procedures.
Ranjit Singh, father of Rikshit told TNIE that his son had joined the oil tanker in Iran in August last year and was to come back home on February 15 to attend his elder brother Dikshit Chauhan’s wedding.
Ranjit Singh is a state government employee at Sula Naib Tehsil and lives in Ward 7 in Palampur.
"The whole family is worried about his safety and well-being. No one has contacted us either from the Union or the Russian government. Even the company where my son works did not contact us. I came to know about the news from the media only when I saw that the oil tanker was being taken into custody by the US authorities. Then, I contacted the Pardhan of the Palampur Municipal Corporation,’’ he said.
Singh added, "I got a phone call from MLA Ashish Butail, and he assured us of all possible assistance. He told us to share the details. He has requested the Chief Secretary Sanjay Gupta to take up the matter urgently with the Ministry of External Affairs, so that diplomatic efforts can be intensified for the early release of our son.’’
Singh added that a representative of the Merchant Navy Officers Association of India had reached out to them and informed that the Russian Government was closely monitoring the situation.
"This was the third trip of my son as he had just started his career. He worked for another company, earlier,’’ the worried father added.
He further said that his son used to call them three times a day.
"Rikshit last called us on January 7 and told it is snowing in the North Atlantic, and he might not be able to contact us for a few days,’’ he said.
Two other Indians who were on the ship were from Kerala and Goa.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on January 9 stated that it is closely monitoring the reports and is currently ascertaining the details of the nationals aboard the tanker.