Two Malayali crew aboard hijacked vessel

THRISSUR: At least two Keralites have been reported to be among 21 Indian sailors held captive aboard a cargo vessel hijacked by Somalian pirates off Oman coast. The two sailors have been identified as Stanley Vincent, 22, of Karuvannur and Dibin Davis, 22, of Mapranam, Thrissur.The family members of the captive told ‘Express’ that they came to know of the incident on Sunday night through some relatives abroad whohad access to a marine sector news site. The shipping company has, however, not made any communication with the families or the Indian authorities.The two families said they have sought the Center’s intervention in securing the release of their kin. Rosy, mother of Stanley, said that the family had taken up the matter to the offices of Non-Resident Indians Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Minister for Labour Shibu Baby John.The families last heard from both Stanley and Dibin on February 28. They were about to set off sail to Nigeria from Sharjah the next morning and would contact only after 45-60 days, they had said.Two more Keralites are suspected to be among the captives. “We don’t know the whereabouts of the other two. But the four studied in Euro Tech Maritime Academy in Kochi and had gone to abroad by the same flight in February,” the families said. While Dibin and Stanley had done Marine GP Writing, the other two had done BSc Nautical Science. They are suspected to be from Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam but no official confirmation has been received.Hijack reports first surfaced on March 2 night when the chemical tanker M/V Royal Grace was under attack from pirates, however her whereabouts were mostly unknown. The Nato officials on March 3 had confirmed that the Panama-flagged tanker had been hijacked by Somali pirates off the coast of Oman but nothing about the mariners onboard. It was not until the owners of the vessel had received an email from the vessels master on March 4 that officials were able to confirm the hijacking.Somali reports had also confirmed the hijacking, citing both Puntland officials and pirate sources. The vessel was last reported heading towards Somalia under pirate control. The vessel is owned by Dubai-based Oyster Cargo & Shipping.