Ship crew caught between the devil and deep sea

KOCHI: The over 50-day detention of eight foreign crew members of MV Mirach that ran aground off Kanyakumari coast in the first week of April is likely to snowball into a major diplomatic issue. While the Kanyakumari district administration and the Directorate General of Shipping refuse to take responsibility for detaining them without court orders, maritime organisations like Sailors Helpline Chennai warn that it could lead to diplomatic issues.  The Panama-flagged and Turkish-owned merchant vessel MV Mirach sunk off the coast of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu while carrying iron ore from Vizag to Karachi. Though the crew members were detained by the Kanyakumari district administration, 15 of them were released based on the report issued by the Directorate General of Shipping. Interestingly, instead of detaining only the officials responsible for the mishap, all officers of the ship are kept under detention.Currently, eight crew members _ six Turkish and two Azerbaijan nationals _ are under detention. “We have been waiting here for a long time. They haven’t told us why they have detained us. The master, second officer, chief engineer, second engineer and third engineer are here. We have no clue as to why they have detained us like this,” vessel captain Vehbi Kara, a Turkish national, said over the phone from Nagercoil where they are staying. The police have seized the travel documents of the crew. Strangely, the officials of the Directorate General of Shipping are not ready to take responsibility. “We do not wish to harass or detain seafarers. I don’t have any idea from where you got the impression that the Ministry of Shipping is holding them. So far we have not received any such communication from the district officials. If we get something in writing, we’ll respond to it,” said Capt Harish Khatri, Deputy Director General, DG Shipping.  On the other hand, the district administration is of the view that a decision on the repatriation of the crew can be taken based on clearances obtained from various bodies, including the Directorate General of Shipping. “We are writing to the DG Shipping regarding this. We need to obtain a clearance from the Coast Guard, the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board, the Pollution Control Board and the DG Shipping before repatriation of the crew,” said Kanyakumari District Collector Rajendra Ratnoo.