CHENNAI: Stephania turned four last week. She and her six-year-old sister Fiona were awaiting their father Xavier Prispan’s arrival to celebrate her birthday at their village in Thoothukudi district. But the celebration was called off as the family is praying for the return of Xavier, who is among the 26-member crew of Norwegian tanker MT Heroic Idun, a crude oil carrier flying the flag of the Marshall Islands, which has been detained by Nigeria.
The crew, of which 16 are Indians, is currently held in Nigeria, where they were produced before a court in the oil hub Port Harcourt this week, Prispan’s wife Salo told TNIE. “We are worried about Xavier,” she added. The families of all three sailors from TN Prispan from Thoothukudi, Rajan Deepan Babu of Chennai, and Ramapuram Sukumar Harsha from Ambur along with the families of others have approached the Ministry of External Affairs and the State government to ensure their release, but to no avail.
Even a letter from the Indian consulate in Nigeria failed to evoke any response from the Nigerian Ministry of Home Affairs. Deepan’s wife Sowmya said the local spokesperson of OSM, a vessel managing company, Captain Ramaswami updated the families on the events in Nigeria. She added, “He said the sailors pleaded not guilty and the crew were sent back to their vessel.”
The next hearing is scheduled in January. “I haven’t told Deepan’s parents about this. They will be worried. We urge the government to ensure the return of the crew as they did nothing wrong,” said Sowmya.
The Nigerian navy accused the crew of falsely claiming they were under attack from pirates in order to flee Nigerian waters. The vessel was detained under the ‘Yaounde Code of Conduct’ for nearly two months, in addition to being fined. Meanwhile, an application has been filed in the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea under Article 292 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea for the release of the vessel and its 26-member crew.
“The continued detention is causing mental stress to the sailors’ families. It is becoming difficult for the mothers to explain to their little children why their dear father did not reach home... We are in touch with the families and providing them moral and psychological support,” said Manoj Joy, community development manager, Sailors Society.