NEW DELHI: Aparna Suresh has not heard from her husband for the past seven days. With each passing hour, the family's anxiety deepens.
Her husband, 26-year-old Avinash Amal Kumar, is among 23 crew members aboard the Mirage (IMO: 9254422), a merchant navy vessel currently off the coast of Iran, a region fraught with tension as hostilities between Iran, Israel, and the United States escalate.
“My husband told me a week ago that they were planning to sign off due to the Iran-Israel conflict. That was the last update I received. Since then, there’s been nothing but silence,” said Aparna, speaking from Thiruvananthapuram.
She believes many of the crew are from South India. Despite repeated appeals to the ship’s management company Deewine Ship Management and Marine Services Ltd she says no clear information has been provided. “They said they are unaware of the full situation. I just want my husband and the other crew members brought home safely,” she added.
Making matters worse, Aparna shared that Avinash’s father, a heart patient, is currently hospitalised. “Avinash is the only son. Things are quite bad at home.”
When contacted, the company’s manager, Vivek Kumar, confirmed that 23 Indian crew members are aboard. “The foreign owner of the vessel has been informed. There are approximately 250 merchant vessels in the area. We are in touch and hope to update all crew members at the earliest,” he said.
The Mirage is one of many vessels currently operating in the Persian Gulf, a region now under heightened military surveillance and risk. On Friday, U.S. forces launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, fuelling fears of a broader regional escalation.
