New Delhi: The Kerala sailors who were detained by the Nigerian Navy returned home after nine months on Saturday, news agency ANI reported. The mariners had an emotional reunion with their families at the Kochi airport after their return via Cape Town in South Africa and thanked the Ministry of External Affairs for helping them.
According to the report, 16 Indian crew members of the ship 'MT Heroic Idun' were detained last year in Equatorial Guinea and later in Nigeria for allegedly violating the international maritime boundary line.
Milton D’Couth of Mulavukad, Sanu Jose of Elamkulam, and V. Vijith of Kollam were among the 26-member crew, including 16 Indians, eight Sri Lankans and one each from Philippines and Poland, on the crude oil carrier.
“There was this huge excitement and sense of freedom on landing on home soil. Communication was the biggest problem during detention since our captors allowed us access to mobile phones only for a few minutes once in one or two months. They wanted us to communicate with none other than our families,” The Hindu quoted Milton D’Couth as saying.
The mariners recalled how towards the end of their detention, their condition worsened with very limited food and water supply. They said that the quality of water was a huge concern, leaving them vulnerable to diseases like typhoid. “We were locked up in a small room. To be dealt like criminals despite committing no crime was traumatic,” said D’Couth.
According to report, the crew was initially detained by Equatorial Guinea on charges of violating their territorial waters. They were in the custody of the naval force of Equatorial Guinea since August 12 and later, they were handed over to the Nigerian Navy.