For kin of sailors, it was waves of trauma

The family members of missing seamen want the Centre to help launch a search of islands near the disaster spot

Missing seaman Suresh Kumar’s relatives break down after meeting the rescued sailors at a meeting organised by Vridhi Maritime on Thursday; father of Bevin Thomas comes out of the meeting; and Captain Ramkumar of the maritime company.

Thirteen days after the M.V. Emerald Star sank, the family members of 10 missing sailors came face-to-face with 15 of the 16 rescued sailors at a meeting organised at a private club in Chennai, by Vridhi Maritime Pvt Ltd, the company that managed the ill-fated vessel.

Over the course of three hours on Thursday afternoon, the sailors narrated how the ordeal had unfolded and held out hope for the families of their missing counterparts. The graphic descriptions left some extremely emotional and distraught. Sailor Bevin Thomas’ father stumbled out of the hall, helped by a young man. He held his head in his hands as he left, and had to be guided to his room in the club that the company had arranged for the family members.

A missing sea-man's father

As the sailors narrated their traumatic experience on the high seas and how they fought for survival till the rescue ships arrived, a relative of fourth engineer Suresh Kumar Subbaiah burst out of the room crying. “It seems the rescue ships threw a rope, but he was not able to catch it. They threw it again, but a wave came and washed him away….He’s still missing,” she said crying.

In the hall was Uma Sri, wife of missing third officer Giridhar Kumar Subramaniam. According to family members of the missing sailors, the company officials had begun to speak about paying salary dues and offered compensation. Families say salaries have been due for two or three months. At this point, the meeting reportedly became heated.

Ms. Uma Sri told the company officials to focus the search on islands close to the last-known location for the sailors, instead of talking about compensation. A few others joined in, supporting her. Mr. Ramesh Kumar, Suresh Kumar’s brother-in-law, said they pressed the company to request the Indian government to arrange for a search of the islands.

Capt. Ramkumar (right) of Vridhi Maritime Private Limited

The rescue efforts, however, have been called off, say sources. There has been no official update from either the Indian Navy or the Ministry of External Affairs after October 16. On Thursday, one of the rescued sailors, and three kin of missing sailors are said to have met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Sailors in trauma

The 16 survivors who have returned and the families of the missing face much trauma, says Manoj Joy, Port Chaplain of Sailors Society, a charitable organisation working for seafarers and their families.

“The Crisis Response Team of Sailors Society with professional psychologists has been tasked with counselling the families and survivors,” he adds.

Among the chief triggers of trauma for survivors is the moment of capsizing when the ship sucks in water. Mr. Joy also talks about survivor's guilt and says professional counselling and rehabilitation is a long drawn process.

The missing sailors are: Captain Rajesh Ramachandran Nair, Rahul Kumar, Giridhar Kumar Subramaniam, Shyam Singh Rajput, Suresh Kumar Subbaiah, Ashok Kumar Chauhan, Gurumurthy Perumalsamy, Silambarasan Malarvanan, Gowtham Murugan and Bevin Thomas.