The plight of 43 Indian sailors held hostage by Somali pirates on six ships has reached the government’s doorstep, Indian media reported on Tuesday.
The families of 17 sailors trapped on one such ship – MT Royal Grace – have gathered in Delhi in a desperate bid to get a hearing from officials.
Time is running out. The pirates on the United Arab Emirates-owned MT Royal Grace, which was hijacked in March, have set November 30 as the deadline for meeting their demands.
Mehtab, mother of a 25-year-old sailor from Allahabad who is on the ship, says: “We have being trying to meet officials for the past six months, but have only got assurances.”
“We even went to the offices of the Prime Minister, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Our petition was accepted. We were assured an audience with government officials, but that never happened,” she says, sobbing uncontrollably.
“I am losing all hope of being able to see my son again,” she says.
Shipping Minister GK Vasan said today the government was Working to get the sailors freed. He said officials have been in touch with relatives of the hostages. Of the 200 taken hostage in the last five years, 160 had been rescued.
Sushil, whose 23-year-old brother from Meerut is one of the captives, says his brother sounded very scared when they spoke on November 22.
The families say they’re determined to stay put in Delhi until the government acts.
Fifteen of the 43 abducted sailors have been held hostage for over two years now. Their ships were hijacked in 2010: MV Iceberg on March 16, MT Asphalt Venture on September 7 and MV Albedo on November 2.
This year, two ships were hijacked – MV Royal Grace on March 17 and MT Smyrni on May 11 – and 28 sailors taken hostage.
