KOLKATA: The phone rang at Shishir Wahi's plush Alipore residence around 10am on Tuesday. His wife, Preeti, froze at what the unfamiliar voice at the other end had to say: "We are sorry to inform you that no contact can be made with the ship MT Cotton. We assume the ship has been taken over by pirates near Port Gentil."
MT Cotton, a tanker owned by a Turkish company, captained by Wahi and with an all-Indian crew of 20, vanished from the radar a day before that call was made. The tanker had sailed from Turkey to Port Gentil in Gabon, a tiny African country on the west coast, sandwiched between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon. It left the port at 2.03am (IST) on July 14, but was stopped in the Gulf of Guinea 22 minutes later. The last time it blinked on the radar was at 4.26am on July 15. Six of the 20 crew, including Wahi, are from the city.
A Turkish foreign ministry official told news agencies the tanker had been captured by pirates and possibly been towed away. "We believe it was captured by pirates in the region where such acts are common," the official said, adding the Turkish ambassador had taken up the matter with Gabon's foreign minister. Gabon is on the opposite coast of Somalia, which is notorious for piracy, and is an important port in the trade route between Europe, Africa and South America.
Wahi, 64, a veteran sailor, had flown to Gabon and taken charge of the ship from there. "He has been a sailor since he was 16. He has even crossed the Gulf of Aden in Somalia. I don't know what went wrong this time," a tense Preeti said. "We heard they are cargo pirates who only loot and release the crew afterwards. Families of other crew members must also be going through the toughest of the times. We can only pray at this point," Preeti added. The couple have a daughter, Richa, who teaches at a city school.
When TOI contacted the Indian embassy in Ankara, it could not confirm the hijacking of MT Cotton. "We do not have any update on the ship as yet. We will let you know if there is any update," an embassy official said.
Captain Wahi's recruiting agency, the Turkish company V Ships, said it was yet to get any update. Vaibhav Dalvi, crew director of V Ships, said the Turkish company that owns MT Cotton had sent him a message assuming the tanker had been attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea. "We anticipate that if indeed the vessel was subject to pirate attacks, the situation will develop as per similar piracy attacks that occurred in the Gulf of Guinea region recently," the message said.
Gulf of Guinea isn't as notorious as Gulf of Aden but has seen a series of pirate attacks since January, especially off the coast of Nigeria, which isn't far from Port Gentil.
"So far, there is no report of any ransom call. Normally, pirates loot the ship and free the crew along with the ship. Their intentions are to steal cargo, ship stores and personal belongings of the crew. But I can not say whether the pirates are locals or not," said Dalvi. The Turkish owners of the ship said, "We expect the crew to cooperate with the captors to minimize any risk to their personal safety and facilitate safe release of the crew." "We heard that they are cargo pirates who only loot and release the crew afterwards.
Late on Tuesday, Richa emailed this correspondent a photograph of her father. The mail ended with a quote: "Not all those who wander are lost."
MT Cotton, a tanker owned by a Turkish company, captained by Wahi and with an all-Indian crew of 20, vanished from the radar a day before that call was made. The tanker had sailed from Turkey to Port Gentil in Gabon, a tiny African country on the west coast, sandwiched between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon. It left the port at 2.03am (IST) on July 14, but was stopped in the Gulf of Guinea 22 minutes later. The last time it blinked on the radar was at 4.26am on July 15. Six of the 20 crew, including Wahi, are from the city.
A Turkish foreign ministry official told news agencies the tanker had been captured by pirates and possibly been towed away. "We believe it was captured by pirates in the region where such acts are common," the official said, adding the Turkish ambassador had taken up the matter with Gabon's foreign minister. Gabon is on the opposite coast of Somalia, which is notorious for piracy, and is an important port in the trade route between Europe, Africa and South America.
Wahi, 64, a veteran sailor, had flown to Gabon and taken charge of the ship from there. "He has been a sailor since he was 16. He has even crossed the Gulf of Aden in Somalia. I don't know what went wrong this time," a tense Preeti said. "We heard they are cargo pirates who only loot and release the crew afterwards. Families of other crew members must also be going through the toughest of the times. We can only pray at this point," Preeti added. The couple have a daughter, Richa, who teaches at a city school.
When TOI contacted the Indian embassy in Ankara, it could not confirm the hijacking of MT Cotton. "We do not have any update on the ship as yet. We will let you know if there is any update," an embassy official said.
Captain Wahi's recruiting agency, the Turkish company V Ships, said it was yet to get any update. Vaibhav Dalvi, crew director of V Ships, said the Turkish company that owns MT Cotton had sent him a message assuming the tanker had been attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea. "We anticipate that if indeed the vessel was subject to pirate attacks, the situation will develop as per similar piracy attacks that occurred in the Gulf of Guinea region recently," the message said.
Gulf of Guinea isn't as notorious as Gulf of Aden but has seen a series of pirate attacks since January, especially off the coast of Nigeria, which isn't far from Port Gentil.
"So far, there is no report of any ransom call. Normally, pirates loot the ship and free the crew along with the ship. Their intentions are to steal cargo, ship stores and personal belongings of the crew. But I can not say whether the pirates are locals or not," said Dalvi. The Turkish owners of the ship said, "We expect the crew to cooperate with the captors to minimize any risk to their personal safety and facilitate safe release of the crew." "We heard that they are cargo pirates who only loot and release the crew afterwards.
Late on Tuesday, Richa emailed this correspondent a photograph of her father. The mail ended with a quote: "Not all those who wander are lost."
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