THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At Kalamassery in Kochi, T V Pappachan and wife Deena are a worried lot since the news of seizure of British vessel ‘Stena Empero’ by Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG) hit the headlines. Their 26-year-old son Dijo Pappachan is a Messman on board the British vessel which is under the custody of the IRG for the last two days.
“We don’t have any information about our son since Friday. He called us on Friday morning from the ship. Since then we have not been able to contact him. It was on June 17 that he joined the voyage from Gujarat where the British-flagged vessel had anchored. The tanker was seized by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz,” said Pappachan.
Dijo has an elder sister Deepa and younger sister Dinsy. It was after completing BSc in Hotel Management that Dijo joined the shipping industry.
He had earlier worked on two other ships before taking up the assignment with ‘Stena Empero”.
“He was with us on vacation last month. He used to communicate with us from the ship on a daily basis. We are worried because there is no information about him in the past two days,” said Pappachan.
Hibi Eden MP, who visited the family, said they have taken up the issue with the Union Government. “We are in constant touch with the office of the Ministry of External Affairs. As per the information available, four Malayalees are said to be on board the British vessel under the custody of Iran. We don’t have much details about the other Keralites,” said Hibi.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan writes to Centre
T’Puram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has urged the Centre to take all possible steps to ensure the safety of the crew, who include Malayalees, of the British-flagged oil tanker ‘Stena Impero’ seized by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Gulf. In a missive to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Pinarayi also sought details of the Malayalees on board the seized vessel. “I’m greatly concerned by reports of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s seizure of the British-flagged oil tanker, whose crew comprises Indian nationals including four persons from Kerala, in the Strait of Hormuz. I also understand that your ministry is making interventions in the matter,” he said. “I request that all possible efforts be made to ensure the crew’s safety and relevant details of persons may be shared with the state government so that their family members can be contacted and we can be of help in their hour of crisis,” Pinarayi said.
Prajith calls home, says he is fine
Kasaragod: Prajith Purushothaman, 32, one of the three Malayalees on board the crude oil vessel Grace 1, called up his parents on Sunday and said he was fine. Prajith, a native of Udma, is the third engineer aboard the Iranian oil tanker seized by the British, as it was transporting oil to Syria without the EU’s sanction. Prajith’s father, Purushothaman said, he came to know of the ship’s detention on Thursday. “British authorities took away the crew’s mobile phones and laptops and returned them only on Sunday. My son called me the moment he got back his phone,” said Purshothaman. Prajith told his father that it would take almost a month before the ship is let off. He last came home three months ago. Purushothaman said he was not too worried about Prajith’s safety as the ship was not hijacked by Somalian pirates.