Released by Somali pirates after a seven-month-long ordeal, eight crew members of the hijacked ship MT Asphalt Venture returned to India in the early hours of Sunday.
Captain Ramesh Singh and seven sailors were released on April 15 after the pirates reached a deal with the owners of the vessel, which involved payment of an undisclosed ransom.
However, the pirates — who were supposed to release all 15 crew — backtracked and took seven members, including six officers, onshore to Somalia.
The freed sailors waited aboard the vessel, which was released, for their colleagues for a while before being escorted safely to the Kenyan port of Mombasa on April 28 with the help of Indian Navy. For, staying in pirates-infested waters was not safe.
After a couple of days of rest, the eight sailors flew into Mumbai, a shipping company representative told PTI over telephone.
Relief and concern
“It is a wonderful feeling to be back home [and] to be reunited with our families...we remain deeply concerned that seven of our colleagues and friends remain in the hands of the criminal gang,” Captain Singh was quoted as saying in an e-mailed statement.
He declined to give more details, saying he did not want to do anything which could compromise their safety.
The pirates did not release the entire crew demanding that their associates, who were arrested by Indian authorities on suspicion of indulging in piracy in the country's waters, be freed.
