Officials from the British High Commission and the Estonia Embassy met the crew and guards of US ship MV Seaman Guard Ohio, at the Palayamkottai Central Prison in Tirunelveli on Monday.
Prison sources said that that the foreign nationals were lodged at quarantine II in the prison.
On Monday, British High Commission representatives Petula James and Rhona Royle from Chennai and New Delhi respectively, and Margus Sarglepp from the Estonian Embassy in New Delhi, met the 23 members including six British, 14 Estonian and other foreign nationals.
The embassy officials met the prison doctor Anees Snekha and Prison Superintendent Kanagaraj to learn about their health and the facilities provided at the prison. They spent nearly two hours interacting with the prison officials.
The embassy officials, however, avoided mediapersons waiting at the prison entrance.
A prison official said that the visit had nothing to do with the legal aspect of the case and was in accordance with the protocol.
The official further said that the arrested crew and guards were lodged in a single dormitory and extended facilities as provided for in the prison manual.
Meanwhile, chief engineer of the ship Siderenko Valeriy is alleged to have enacted a suicide drama by covering his head with his shirt and holding the iron grills from outside the cell in the presence of prison guard. “After the prison guard informed us about the drama, we examined him.
Siderenko Valeriy is found to be depressed, so we left him under the care of the ship captain Dudmik Valentyn,” said the senior prison official.
Earlier on Saturday, Siderenko Valeriy attempted suicide using a rope from the ship’s flagmast when the Q-branch police were conducting an inquiry.
“We also advised the prison doctors to check his health condition on a regular basis,” said the official. The chief jail warder, jailor, deputy jailor and other guards are closely monitoring the movement of the inmates,” he added.
It may be recalled that the Q-branch police arrested the 35 members including 10 crew members (eight Indians and two Ukraine nationals) and 25 armed guards (14 Estonia, six British nationals, four Indian and one Ukraine) of the ship under non-bailable sections and various provisions of the Arms Act, Essential Commodities Act and Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel Prevention of Malpractices in Supply and Distribution Order. They were remanded in 14 days’ judicial custody in the prison.