KANPUR (UP) BJP MP Satyadev Pachauri on Monday met the family members of an Indian sailor allegedly held hostage by the navy of Equatorial Guinea for three months and assured them of all possible help for his release.
Pachauri asked 26-year-old merchant navy officer Roshan Arora's (26) family members to submit their grievance in writing and assured them that he will personally meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to work out a solution.
Pachauri also told the family that in case Jaishankar was not immediately available, he will meet one of his deputies.
Komal Arora, Roshan Arora's sister, told the media that the officer had joined merchant navy company MT Heroic Idun as a third officer and had reached Nigeria to receive a consignment of crude oil about three months ago, but he and the other crew members were detained.
She said Roshan Arora's vessel had reached Nigeria on August 8 along with 25 other crew members altogether: 16 Indians, eight Sri Lankans and a Filipino.
"The vessel was intercepted by the Equatorial Guinea naval ship in the international waters on August 12 and escorted to Luba port. The vessel was under that country's naval escort and the crew members faced the threat of lethal action if their orders were not complied with," she said.
MP Pachauri told PTI over phone that he had received a letter addressed to Jaishankar from Roshan's employer on Monday, in which the company had sought the government's help in getting all the Indian crew members released.
"I have been informed that the vessel was stopped based on a request made by Nigeria," the MP said.
The vessel was supposed to load crude oil in Nigeria's AKPO terminal on August 8, but according to the instructions at the terminal, the loading operation was delayed and the vessel never carried out the cargo operations in that country, MT Heroic Idun said in the letter.
On August 8 evening, the vessel was approached by an unidentified ship claiming to be Nigerian Navy and asked the Indian merchant navy officers to proceed with them and follow their instructions.
The Indian vessel couldn't identify the local ship there as it was night, probably a new moon, and its automatic identification systems were switched off, the letter said.
Fearing a piracy attack, Arora's vessel sailed at full speed to ensure safety and security of the vessel and its crew members, but they were later informed that the unidentified ship was from the Nigerian Navy.
On August 12, the Equatorial Guinea Naval seized the Indian vessel, it said.
Fifteen crew members, including nine Indians, were taken ashore on the same day and detained at Malabo till November 6, while 11 crew members who remained on the vessel fully cooperated with the investigations, the letter stated.
Despite paying the fine on September 28, the crew members and vessel were still held in Equatorial Guinea. No information has been provided to the company since then, the letter said.