Tanker with 22 Indian sailors goes missing off Africa, fuels fears of hijacking

MT Marine Express which was last seen anchored at Cotonou Benin off the coast of West Africa PicJurij SA tanker vessel carrying approximately 81 million in gasoline and a crew of 22 Indians has been lost at sea for over 48 hours off the coast of the West African country Benin The vessel MT Marine Express is the second ship to have gone missing in as many months in this region It is suspected that Marine Express might have fallen prey to hijackers or pirates just like the ship that disappeared last monthThe ship was last traced to the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of Benin on February 1 ImagingUday MohiteThe last anyone heard from MT Marine Express was at 630 pm on January 31 when it was anchored at Cotonou Benin The next day at 236 am satellite tracking showed the ship missing from anchorage in the Gulf of Guinea Highly placed officials in the shipping industry informed midday that the Panamaregistered vessel was carrying approximately 13500 tonnes of gasoline which is valued at 600 per tonne bringing the total value of cargo to about 81 million about Rs 52 crore The officials said it is possible that the ship has been hijacked for ransom or to loot the gasolineAlso read 10 American sailors missing after collisionCrew from Andheri CoThe crew is entirely Indian with seamen provided by Ms Anglo Eastern Ship Management in Andheri East which also runs maritime training centres in various places across the country The parent company Anglo Eastern Univan group is a ship management company with nearly 900 vessels under thirdparty management as of December 2016 The companys Mumbai office has already communicated the developments to the family members of the crew The families are in a helpless position as their only source of information at the moment is the companyThe search is onThe Directorate General of Shipping DGS and the Ministry of Shipping in Delhi have already swung into action and have made requests to their counterparts in Nigeria and Benin to locate the missing vessel B R Shekar chief surveyor who also holds the additional charge of director general at the DGS confirmed the incident and said We have received the information and have already alerted all the required agencies who are looking for the missing vesselA senior official added The Nigerian Navy and Coast Guard carried out an aerial search at and around the location where the vessel was last anchored but they have not been able to trace it so far We are monitoring the situation and have to depend on our counterparts in NigeriaHijacking or piracyA senior official from the High Commission of India in Abuja Nigeria said Until we locate and speak to the crew we cant say if it was a hijack or pirate attack But the fact is we have not been able to trace the vessel or crews so farLess than a month ago on January 9 another vessel MT Barret had gone missing off the coast of Benin Two days after its disappearance it was confirmed that it been hijacked The ship had a crew of 22 most of whom were Indians They were released for ransom six days laterA senior DGS official from Mumbai confirmed that all Indians who were on board MT Barret were safe and were taken to Lagos Nigeria after their release on January 16 The official added Gulf of Guinea is known as a highrisk and vulnerable waterway for merchant vessels as these places are well known for pirate presenceWhen asked why sailors risk their life on such highrisk routes the official said The seafarers or even the companies supplying manpower have almost zero control over where the merchant vessels will be deployed once they enter foreign waters It is a competitive industry and business is all that matters at the end of the dayThe official mentioned that while the DGS has issued a Standard Operating Procedure and guidelines to seafarers for such regions the authorities are unaware of the security parameters on board the Marine ExpressCompany saysWhen midday contacted Anglo Eastern Ship Management a midlevel official said on condition of anonymity The incident happened in foreign waters We have hired MTI Network a worldleading crisis response network dedicated to serving the shipping energy offshore and transportation industry The official asked the reporter to call MTI Network for more information but there was no response on the contact number providedLocal maritime threatsWhile the predominant maritime threat in the Indian Ocean is piracy threats in the Gulf of Guinea are variedPiracy and armed robbery is usually for cargoViolence against crewmembers is more common as Gulf of Guinea pirates rarely hold them for ransomAttacks on chemical tankers and vessels carrying refined petroleum are well choreographed and hijackers are wellversed in how to operate these vesselsWest Africa is one of the worlds main hubs for illegal unreported and unregulated fishingSmuggling of counterfeit items people narcotics and arms6No of days MT Barret was held hostage last month22No of Indian crew members stuck on MT Marine Express459 ktTotal capacity of MT Marine Express81 mnApprox value of cargoCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news current affairs from Mumbai local news crime news and breaking headlines hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go