Merchant ship with 22 Indian crew freed off Benin coast

NEW DELHI: Twenty-two Indian crew members took back control of a merchant ship that had been hijacked by pirates off the Benin coast in North West Africa five days ago, Indian government officials and the vessel’s management company said on Tuesday.

“I am happy to inform that the Merchant Ship Marine Express with 22 Indian nationals on-board has been released,” India’s external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted.

The ship’s captain and crew took back control Monday evening Benin time, Anglo-eastern of Hong Kong, which manages tanker, said on social media. The vessel went “missing” on the evening of February 1 from the Contonou anchorage in the Gulf of Guinea.

“The ship has been released and is back under the command of the captain,” Director General of Shipping Malini Shankar said.

The pirates had switched off all communication systems on the vessel after taking it over, prompting the navies of Benin and Nigeria to launch a search operation, a statement from the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) said.

The DGS statement said the pirates disembarked from the vessel without making any demand for ransom or selling off the 13,500 tonnes of petrol it had.

The Panama-flagged vessel’s location during the period of the captivity was not known, but thanks to the “coordinated efforts”, she is now in international waters, sailing away from land to her next port of call, it said.

“The owner of the vessel is arranging the sign-off of all the crew members at the vessel’s next port of calling,” the statement said. Swaraj thanked governments of Nigeria and Benin for their support in securing the release of the vessel and its crew. Swaraj had spoken to her Nigerian counterpart on Monday, seeking assistance.

THE OFFICIALS ABOARD THE VESSEL SAID THEY WERE IN THE CAPTIVITY OF PIRATES FOR FIVE DAYS