Crew detained five months ago on charges of aiding pirates who attacked Ocean Centurion
The Union Minister of Shipping Shri G.K. Vasan has expressed happiness at the release of Indian sailors Capt. Sunil James and Shri Andi Vijayan from Togo, a West African country, and on their reaching back to India tomorrow.
The release followed the intervention of the Prime Minister and follow-up by the External Affairs Ministry. The Minister had been intensely monitoring the progress of the release of these two sailors and the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) has been closely co-ordinating with the family of Capt. James and the Embassy of India in Accra, Ghana .
The sailors were released this morning at 2.00 a.m. (Indian Standard Time) and are expected to reach India tomorrow morning. As a gesture from the Government of India, officials from the DGS have been deputed to receive Capt. James at Mumbai and Shri Vijayan at Kochi.
Source: Press Information Bureau, Government of India
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AFP – Indian sailors detained for five months released in Togo
