KOCHI: The situation in Equatorial Guinea where 26 crew, including 16 Indians of which three are Malayalees, of the Norway-based ship Heroic Idun have been detained for the alleged violation of maritime boundaries, continues to be tense. With no clear information regarding the sailors available, the dear and near ones of the crew are a worried lot.
According to Sheetal D’Silva, wife of Milton D’Coth, a motorman on the ship, in the last message, her husband had informed her that they are still at the port.
“However, many of the crew have developed health issues. Two of them were hospitalised after falling sick,” she said.
“The news that the crew have been taken back from the port and accommodated in a hotel is false.
“We are not able to communicate with them constantly. The crew fear that if the Guinean officials see them taking videos, they might confiscate the phones,” she said. In the last message conveyed by a crew member to his family, the sailor said that the chief engineer was having difficulty in breathing and was being treated on shore, she added.