Five Indian seafarers abducted by pirates in Nigeria, rescued after 70 days in captivity

HYDERABAD: After more than 70 days in captivity, five Indian seafarers abducted from a ship in Nigeria have been rescued with the efforts of India’s ministry of external affairs and Nigerian authorities.
In what was believed to an act of piracy, the pirates got on to the ship and abducted the Indian seafarers on April 19, 2019 from the vessel ‘MT Apecus’ at the outer anchorage of Bonny Island, Nigeria. They were rescued on June 27, 2019.
The abducted seafarers were taken ashore from the vessel at 1.30 pm (GMT) on the day by the pirates. Families of those seafarers abducted made fervent pleas to the Indian government to secure their release from the clutches of the kidnappers.
Family members of the abducted seafarers told TOI that they also got ransom calls for one million dollars from the abductor who also made him speak to the abducted sailors.
It, however, is not known if any money exchanged hands to secure the release of the five Indian seafarers but the Director-General of Shipping has announced that the seafarers have been rescued.
DG Shipping said the matter of the seafarers being abducted was reported on during the early hours on April 20, 2019 and standard operating procedure as per the applicable contingency plan was initiated. Various agencies concerned were intimated of the incident.
India already had set up an inter-ministerial group of officers to deal with potential maritime security situations arising out of any hijacking at sea of merchants vessels with the Indian crew. This IMGO was convened to deal with the situation in Nigeria.
The ministry of shipping through the directorate general of shipping continuously coordinated with various agencies to work towards the early release of seafarers, DG shipping said.
The ministry was also in touch with the family members to update them on the developments in a timely manner as well as give necessary support as required. The high commission of India, Abuja , Nigeria conveyed the details of the incident to the Nigerian authorities due to which the Nigerian Navy boarded the vessel to secure the vessel as well as carry out an investigation of the incident.
The Regional Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre, Nigeria, continued to assist in the matter.
The Nigerian Maritime and Safety Agency (Nimasa) thereafter took the lead to coordinate Nigerian efforts for securing the release of the Indian nationals. The director general of shipping also coordinated with owner of vessel MT Apecus and also communicated to the Maritime Administration of Greece from where the owner operated its vessels to coordinate the release of kidnapped seafarers.
The directorate general of shipping also took up the issue of piracy in the region with the International Maritime Organisation and other international fora towards coordinating the efforts for eradication of the menace.
Union minister of state for shipping Mansukh Mandaviya said the seafarers were released due to the sustained efforts of various stakeholders including the Ministry of shipping, the directorate general of shipping and the high commission of India, Abuja, Nigeria. “The Indian seafarers was successfully released and have reached the sea for custody of the authorities on June 27, 2019,” he said.