Fourteen Indian seamen who had been stranded in Yemen for more than 10 months soon after their ship sank in the Gulf of Aden flew back to India on Saturday from Dubai.
The 14 seamen had been taken into custody on February 14, 2020, by the regional Houthi authorities in Yemen, the Indian embassy in Djibouti stated in a statement.
“After persistent and painstaking efforts, the Embassy of India, Djibouti was able to get them released on November 28 through its Sana’a office,” the statement stated.
According to the embassy, the stranded Indians had lost their passport and other documents and belongings. It also requested all maritime and other authorities concerned to take note of their predicament and assistance them.
The rescued seamen have been identified as Mohanraj Thanigachalam, William Nicamden, Ahmed Abdul Gafur Wakankar, Fairuz Nasruddin Zari, Sandip Balu Lohar, Nilesh Dhanraj Lohar, Hiron SK, Dawood Mahmood Jivrak, Chetan Hari Chandra Gawas, Tanmay Rajendra Mane, Sanjeev Kumar, Maniraj Mariyappan, Praveen Thammakarantavida and Abdul Vahab Musthaba.
The Indian Consulate in Dubai confirmed the arrival of the Indian seamen in Dubai. Chandrashekhar Bhatia of the Gulf Maharashtra Business Forum (GMBF) stated that the Indian nationals took a flight to Mumbai from the Dubai International Airport on Saturday evening.
Bhatia also shared a letter signed by GMBF Global President Sunil Manjerakar in which he thanked the government and officials who helped make certain the release of the seamen.
In a further note shared by Bhatia, the seamen claimed that they have not received their salaries from the final 10 months. They requested the Indian embassy in Oman and their Omani employer to release their salary.