Eight Indian sailors are still being held by Somali pirates and efforts are on to free them, according to Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan.
Speaking after commissioning Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Rajdhwaj here on Wednesday, Vasan said that of the eight sailors, seven were taken hostage while they were onboard M T Asphalt Venture, while one was held hostage on board Malaysian vessel M V Albedo.
Vasan said that his ministry, along with the ministry of external affairs and various other agencies are pursuing the issue to free the sailors from the pirates.
The minister also said that the captured pirates in Indian jails would be tried under Indian laws and punished.
Vasan also said that a total of 375 foreign crew and 61 foreign boats were captured by Indian Coast Guard in Indian waters this year. He said that of these, 275 crew and 51 boats are from Sri Lanka.
Earlier, he commissioned ICGS Rajdhwaj, the eighth in the series of Inshore Patrol Vessel (IPV) built indigenously by Garden Reach Shipbuilders Engineers, Kolkata.
The minister expressed concern over delay in supplying the ship by the shipyard and urged them to deliver it on time. He urged the shipbuilders to deliver the ship on time.
Director general of coastguard Anurag G Thapliyal said that the on joining the coast guard fleet, the ship will enhance the Coast Guard capability in furthering the mandate of maritime safety and security on the eastern seaboard.
The ship would be manned by five officers and 30 men under Commandant V K Parmar. It will be based at Kakinada under the administrative and operational control of the commander of Coast Guard district headquarters, Visakhapatnam.
