A shipping crew including 14 Indians, 5 Bangladeshis and one Egyptian which has been confined in Yemen for the last 10 months was safely released, with the help of Dr Dhananjay Datar, CMD, Al Adil Trading LLC, UAE.
Specifically, the 14 Indians travelled from Mumbai to Muscat last January to work for an Oman based shipping company. There they were accompanied by 6 other sailors from Bangladesh and Egypt, and they all started their first voyage on 2 ships on February 3 to Yanbu port of KSA.
Yet, on February 12, one of the two vessels sank in the turbulent sea. The crew from the sunken vessel were rescued and continued to serve on another ship which had to anchor because of cyclonic storms. Without knowing, the crew anchored in a war zone which falls under Yemen’s territory.
Soon, they were arrested by the Yemen Coast Guards and were confined to a hotel in the Sana City. During the enquiry, the crew’s passports, cell phones, cash and other documents were seized by the authorities. Without their cell phones they couldn’t contact the outside world as they remained in isolation in hope of rescue efforts by the shipping company.
By the time they were allowed to contact with family and friends, their story was brought to light. Thus, family and friends of the seafarers contacted with Dr. Datar who had previously tasted success in helping retrieve 700 Indian workers from KSA.
He then contacted Vipul the former Consul General of India in Dubai who was presently stationed at the External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi. He promptly initiated a conversation with the Indian Ambassador of Djibouti, a neighbouring country of Yemen as India didn’t have an Embassy in Yemen.
The sailors returned back to their homes.
Speaking about the initiative, Dr. Datar said that he was determined to help his countrymen stranded in foreign shores and hoped they would safely return home to their families.
