Daijiworld Media Network -  Thiruvananthapuram (SR)

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, Jul 22: The British tanker, Stena Impero, which was seized by the Iranian revolutionary guards last week had 23 crew members on board, out of which, eighteen members are reportedly Indians. The families of crew members in India are counting on India's diplomatic strength to bring all the crew members home safely.

As reported in Khaleej times, T.V Pappachan, father of Dijo Pappachan, 26, who was on board the vessel, told the publication that his son was in touch with the family the same day the ship was seized by Iran's revolutionary Guard. "He called and spoke with his mother on July 18, Thursday morning saying he is on his way to Saudi Arabia from Dubai. To our utter shock, we got a call from his company the next day saying the ship is under Iran's custody," Pappachan said. 

Iran seized the British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday as retaliation to Britain's capture of Iranian tanker Grace 1 on July 4. Other than Indians there are also three Russians, a Latvian and a Filipino. 

Dijo has been working for the company for the past two years and he joined Impero only a month ago, said his father. Pappachan said Dijo had mentioned about his colleagues from Kerala. "We know they are from Fort Kochi and the other from Thrippunithura. But we don't know their names or other details." 

Pappachan said "I am not speaking only for my son. All the 23 crew members set sail to foreign countries for work. They are onboard to make a living. It is the government's responsibility to make sure they come back safe." 

"I have complete trust in the government of India and our diplomatic strength. I understand that the issue is between countries and individuals cannot do much. We are all praying for the entire crew's safe return," Pappachan added.

The CM of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan's office tweeted on Sunday that they are in touch with foreign minister S Jaishankar. In a letter to the foreign minister, Kerala CM wrote "I request that all possible efforts to ensure the safety of the crew be made and the relevant details of the 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."