MV Dynamic Striker fled on superiors' orders, says its captain

Ivanychev Sergiy, captain of merchant vessel MV Dynamic Striker which tried to flee without discharging cargo worth Rs40 crore earlier this week, has confessed that they were trying to flee from Indian waters and moving towards Port Fujiriyah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

When asked why they did this despite several warnings issued by the Port Trust, the Coast Guard and the navy, Sergiy said that he was only following the orders of his superiors from the shipping company that owns the ship.

A team from the Ukraine consulate general’s office visited the Yellow Gate police station along with its lawyer. They were allowed to meet the arrested accused and they were satisfied with the investigation being carried out.

Deputy commissioner of police, Port Zone, Quaiser Khalid, said, “We will have to check all the communications of the ship to verify if the statements given by the accused are true and on what grounds they were told to leave Indian waters. The communication between the complainant and the ship crew will also be checked to know why they took this step.”

The other three arrested — the vessel’s radio officer, deck officer and chief engineer — were arrested as they did not try to stop the captain despite knowing that several alerts and signals were sent by maritime and security agencies. The Dornier aircraft flying above the vessel had also alerted them but they did not stop.

Finally, naval vessel INS Agray intercepted them. They did not stop
despite warning shots. Agray had to fire above the vessel’s bow to make them stop.