Two from Kasargod aboard ship hijacked by pirates near West Africa

Stephan Kayyar
Daijiworld Media Network - Kasargod

Kasargod, Jul 17: A Turkish chemical tanker with 24 all-Indian crew was reportedly hijacked by pirates off the coast of Gabon in West Africa on Monday July 15.

It is learnt that two of the crew members on deck are from Kasargod. They are Vasanth Kumar (30), a resident of Melparamba, Nadakkal in Kalnad, and Babu (34), a resident of Palakunnu, Uduma.

Vasanth Kumar and Babu

MV Cotton, the Malta-flagged vessel, was taken over by suspected pirates 15 miles off the Gentil Port early on Monday, a statement from V Ships, the crew manager for the vessel owned by a Turkish company, said.

Vasanth Kumar, son of Raghava and Pushpa, has been in shipping for the past ten years, and joined the present ship about 7 months ago. He is married to Priya and the couple have a daughter. Family sources told daijiworld that he had called home 12 days back.

Babu, son of the late Kannan and Vellachi, has been in shipping for the past 13 years. He is married to Srividya and the couple have a daughter by name Tanya. He had called on Sunday July 14, just a day before the ship was hijacked.

Both Babu and Vasanth were recruited for their present assignment by V Ships in Kochi.

The family members were informed about the incident by the company's head office in Mumbai on Wednesday July 17.

The oil products and chemical tanker lost contact with its Turkish owner ‘Geden Lines’ after leaving Port Gentil in Gabon early Monday morning, an official at Turkey’s foreign ministry in Ankara was quoted by media reports as saying.

Satellite data showed the vessel heading northwards towards Nigeria early yesterday, the official added.

Later in the day, Geden told Turkish officials that the vessel may have redirected its course towards the Ivory Coast, the foreign ministry said.

“The ship was hijacked during night. All officials were informed about the hijack. Unfortunately, the ship is sailing now. There is no contact with the crew. We are cooperating with Cameroon and Nigeria,” Ahmet Riza Demirer, Turkish Ambassador to Gabon, was quoted by media reports as saying.

The Foreign Ministry official said Demirer is in contact with local authorities about the matter and Geden Lines has reached out to ambassadors in Gabon, Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

Captain Shishir Wahi (54) took over the command of the vessel on July 12.

The 2007-built ship was awaiting berthing in the Gulf of Guinea at the time of the hijack, V Ships said. The vessel has a gross tonnage of 23,248 tonne and is 184 metre long.

Officials at the Directorate General of Shipping in Mumbai confirmed the incident but said they are awaiting further details.

Information on the cargo which the ship was carrying and the voyage details were not immediately available.

Company officials did not confirm if any demand for ransom has been made by the suspected sea brigands.

“Safety is the absolute priority of V-Ships and every effort is being made to secure the safe return of the crew,” the statement from V Ships said.

Company officials informed the Turkish government and the Navy as well as other agencies and embassies about the hijack, it said.

With PTI Inputs