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They wait on. They hope against hope and pray as much as they can; for families of the crew of MV Iceberg-I, there is little else left to do. The vessel holding 24 international crew members and six Indians was hijacked last March at the notorious Gulf of Aden by Somali pirates. Appeals to the government and the company have so far fallen on deaf years.
“The incident happened on March 29, 2010. Since then, we have written to the [Kerala] Chief Minister, the Prime Minister and the External Affairs Minister. We got acknowledgements, but no action was taken. We don't know what is to be done. We are just praying. There is nothing more to do,” Unnigopan, a Mumbai-based relative of crew-member Shajikumar Purushothaman from Thiruvananthapuram told The Hindu.
Mr. Unnigopan said Shajikumar was an ex-serviceman with 18 years of service in the Navy.
Sailor Ganesh Mohite's family in Navi Mumbai has knocked on every door in vain. In addition to various appeals, they sought an appointment with External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna.
“So far, no one has called from his office. The Chief Minister told us that our application has been forwarded to the Centre,” said a tearful Pushpalata Mohite, Ganesh's mother. She had learnt of the hijack from a concerned kin of another crew member.
What came as a blow was the abdication of responsibility by the Dubai-based company Afzal Shipping and Cargo LLC, the owner of MV Iceberg. Silence from the government only exacerbated their agony.
“Three months ago, the company said [it was] abandoning its attempts to recover their ship. We have been speaking to the owners [in Dubai]. They said they can't do anything and have left the ship. Some of our acquaintances based in Dubai went to the company's office. They told us it is a company with only one ship. It is unable to pay the $10-million ransom demanded by the pirates,” Rigan Singh, bother of Haryana-based crew member Jaswinder Singh told The Hindu.
The company's officials could not be reached by phone.
To make matters worse, “the ship is not registered.” As a result, no official communication has gone from the company to the government agencies. A reason why the National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI), which had often mediated between families and companies in the past, had not entered the picture this time, said Mr. Singh.
Discretion important
Meanwhile, the government is wary of any direct move. “It's a tight-rope walk. The pirates should not get the impression that we are in a proactive [mode]. There have been attempts by the pirates in the past to get the government involved. We have always said no. If the ransom is paid, the situation can spin out of hand. We keep a discrete watch. Piracy today has become an organised crime, with roots in the developed countries,” Satish Agnihotri, Director-General of Shipping told The Hindu. He said that as per his information, Indians aboard MV Iceberg-I were safe. He denied reports of any deaths having taken place on the ship.
This has brought little consolation to the hapless families. Mr. Singh spoke briefly to Jaswinder only 15 days ago. “He does not know when he will come. He is in a bad state. There is no food or water. The crew is ill. They have skin ailments. We are so tensed. We have nowhere to go, nothing to do. We only wait for the phone call,” Mr. Singh said.
Shajikumar's meagre pension from the Navy barely helped keep his family of two small children and wife afloat. “Every November, one has to go for verification to get the pension. Last November [in Shajikumar's absence], we told the bank to consider our case and they have agreed to continue the pension for a year. I don't know what will happen come November,” Mr. Unnigopan said.
“Do anything, but set us free.” These were Ganesh's words when he last spoke to his mother two months ago. “He is 24. He is our eldest son. It was the first time he went on a ship. He left in November 2009. It's been over a year we have seen him. We have prayed to every god. There are six [Indians] on board. They are all my sons. They should all be set free,” Ms. Mohite said.
“The incident happened on March 29, 2010. Since then, we have written to the [Kerala] Chief Minister, the Prime Minister and the External Affairs Minister. We got acknowledgements, but no action was taken. We don't know what is to be done. We are just praying. There is nothing more to do,” Unnigopan, a Mumbai-based relative of crew-member Shajikumar Purushothaman from Thiruvananthapuram told The Hindu.
Mr. Unnigopan said Shajikumar was an ex-serviceman with 18 years of service in the Navy.
Sailor Ganesh Mohite's family in Navi Mumbai has knocked on every door in vain. In addition to various appeals, they sought an appointment with External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna.
“So far, no one has called from his office. The Chief Minister told us that our application has been forwarded to the Centre,” said a tearful Pushpalata Mohite, Ganesh's mother. She had learnt of the hijack from a concerned kin of another crew member.
What came as a blow was the abdication of responsibility by the Dubai-based company Afzal Shipping and Cargo LLC, the owner of MV Iceberg. Silence from the government only exacerbated their agony.
“Three months ago, the company said [it was] abandoning its attempts to recover their ship. We have been speaking to the owners [in Dubai]. They said they can't do anything and have left the ship. Some of our acquaintances based in Dubai went to the company's office. They told us it is a company with only one ship. It is unable to pay the $10-million ransom demanded by the pirates,” Rigan Singh, bother of Haryana-based crew member Jaswinder Singh told The Hindu.
The company's officials could not be reached by phone.
To make matters worse, “the ship is not registered.” As a result, no official communication has gone from the company to the government agencies. A reason why the National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI), which had often mediated between families and companies in the past, had not entered the picture this time, said Mr. Singh.
Discretion important
Meanwhile, the government is wary of any direct move. “It's a tight-rope walk. The pirates should not get the impression that we are in a proactive [mode]. There have been attempts by the pirates in the past to get the government involved. We have always said no. If the ransom is paid, the situation can spin out of hand. We keep a discrete watch. Piracy today has become an organised crime, with roots in the developed countries,” Satish Agnihotri, Director-General of Shipping told The Hindu. He said that as per his information, Indians aboard MV Iceberg-I were safe. He denied reports of any deaths having taken place on the ship.
This has brought little consolation to the hapless families. Mr. Singh spoke briefly to Jaswinder only 15 days ago. “He does not know when he will come. He is in a bad state. There is no food or water. The crew is ill. They have skin ailments. We are so tensed. We have nowhere to go, nothing to do. We only wait for the phone call,” Mr. Singh said.
Shajikumar's meagre pension from the Navy barely helped keep his family of two small children and wife afloat. “Every November, one has to go for verification to get the pension. Last November [in Shajikumar's absence], we told the bank to consider our case and they have agreed to continue the pension for a year. I don't know what will happen come November,” Mr. Unnigopan said.
“Do anything, but set us free.” These were Ganesh's words when he last spoke to his mother two months ago. “He is 24. He is our eldest son. It was the first time he went on a ship. He left in November 2009. It's been over a year we have seen him. We have prayed to every god. There are six [Indians] on board. They are all my sons. They should all be set free,” Ms. Mohite said.