KOCHI: India has sent two ships to Yemen, in order to evacuate the Indians stranded in the war-torn country. Two passenger ships belonging to the Lakshadweep Administration left for the Djibouti port in Yemen from Kochi on Monday morning.
The ship MV Coral left the Cochin Port around 7.30 am, while MV Kavaratti set sail at 9.30 am. Together, the ships have a total of 150 crew members.
The collective capacity of the vessels is 1,200 passengers. It is expected to take five-seven days to reach the Djibouti port. However, the port of call of the vessels is likely to change, and a final decision in this regard will be taken by the Central Government.
“As per the instructions given by the Government of India, we called back the ship MV Kavaratti, which was sailing to Lakshwadweep last night. Later, the passengers were taken to Lakshadweep in two smaller vessels on Monday,” said the official spokesperson of the Cochin Port Trust. The vessels sailing to Yemen have sufficient food stock, medicine and water.
“The crew members of the ships include a medical team consisting of doctors, nurses and assistants,” added the spokesperson.
Both MV Kavaratti and MV Coral are domestic ships belonging to the Lakshwadweep Administration. “Hence, the Port should complete various formalities to press them into service on the international sea route. All the formalities were completed on Sunday night itself,” he added.
Both the ships will have to sail through the piracy affected areas, and hence will be escorted by the Navy in the outer seas.
“The Navy has already coordinated with the government, and the meeting point with the vessels in the outer sea will be decided soon. The Navy will communicate with the captains of the vessels, and will likely escort the ships from the Mumbai Port,” according to sources in the Indian Navy.
One Expat Arrives in T’Puram
T’Puram: One of the three Keralites who reached the state from war-torn Yemen landed at the airport here. Ruben Jacob Chandy, a resident of Changanacherry, reached Thiruvananthapuram with assistance from the Indian Embassy in Yemen. “The situation in Yemen is serious and all Indians, including, Keralites are in a grip of fear, he told reporters. The other two returnees - Jacob Korah from Kanjirappally and Lijo from Erattupetta - landed at Kochi airport. Lijo said that he footed the airfare on his own with the Embassy arranging for his trip.
‘Govt will Ensure Their Safe Return’
Kannur: The State government is engaged in relentless efforts to ensure the safe return of the Malayalis stranded in strife-torn Yemen, with the cooperation of the Central government and the Indian Embassy, said Minister for NoRKA K C Joseph. He termed as ‘baseless’ the reports that Indian Embassy demanded money from people to offer help and said the government would bear the expenses of their travel.