Twelve Indian seafarers, including two from Kanniyakumari district and one from Pudukkottai district, who had been detained in Italy were released nearly after two years of detention, said Fr. Churchill, general secretary, South Asian Fishermen Fraternity (SAFF), here on Monday.
In a statement issued here, Fr. Churchill said that 15 seafarers were on board cargo ship MV Aberdeen with 40 tonnes of cargo when the vessel was intercepted in international waters and seized by Italian Tax Police near Sicilian island of Pantalleria in Italy on June 22, 2014.
The seafarers were detained at the port of Trapani in Italy. Twelve of the 15 seafarers were promoted by Rassiya Shipping Services (Pvt) Limited, Mumbai.
All the 12 Indian seafarers were freshers and were sailing from Germany waters. As they had no knowledge of the cargo ship, they were under legal detention in Casa Circondariale San in Italy.
As it was proved that the Indian seafarers were innocent, Italian Tax Police authorities released them. The released seafarers reached New Delhi on Monday with the help of Indian Embassy in Italy.
Thanking the Central and State governments for their imitative to secure the release of seafarers, Fr. Churchill urged Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to help the seafarers reach their respective hometowns and extend them relief from Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, the statement added.
