Capt Glen Aroza Comes Home to Safety After Years of Ordeal in Taiwan
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SB)
Mangalore, Oct 4: Capt Glen Patrick Aroza, who was in charge of the Japanese cargo carrier, M T Tosa, and later confined to 18 months of detention in Taiwan for no fault of his has been finally released and returned home after a trade off over monetary matters were deliberated.
Kanara Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Mangalore president G G Mohandas Prabhu in a press release has informed the same and expressed his happiness over the arrival of Aroza, a member of Merchant Navy Officer’s Association, (MNOA), Mangalore, a valuable member of KCCI for more than a decade. The KCCI was involved with the case by providing assistance to Aroza from May 17 2009. For the last seventeen months many representations ere made to NYK Singapore, D G Shipping, various ministries like External Affairs, Law and Justice and Shipping, Government of India besides Taiwan authorities to highlight the plight of Capt Aroza in Hualien Taiwan.
In the press statement, the KCCI also appealed to all the ship owners and ship managers at least from now on to provide specialized legal counsel on an Individual basis which was not the case in Capt Aroza. Further regardless of the contract ship owners and ship managers should pay all dues when seafarers are held to ransom for settling of third party claim compensation suits of this type. As a chamber we strongly advocate the promotion of a healthy practice to regularly communicate with the stranded and distressed seafarer further consoling the family keeping it up dated with truthful events, stated press release. The KCCI also called upon the centre to investigate the M T Tosa case, the manner in which the process was adopted in Taiwan.
It can be recalled here that Capt Aroza, who was in charge of the Japanese cargo carrier, M T Tosa, and was under detention in Taiwan since about two years, on a complaint that a local fishing trawler had sunk, and two of its fishermen had gone missing, after colliding with his ship, has been absolved of all the charges framed against him. The charge of ‘involuntary manslaughter’ had been framed against him. Aroza was absolved of all the charges by a three-judge bench on Friday March 26.
The ship he had captained, had been intercepted midway, and led by the Taiwanese Coast guard to Hualien port in Taiwan on April 18, 2009. The second officer of the ship, who is from Bangladesh, who was on navigation watch at the time, and a Phillipino seaman on look out duty, were also detained.