Nigerian pirates free five of Indian sailors

Five Indian sailors, kidnapped from a ship in Nigeria, have been released and taken in safe custody, the Minister of State (MoS) for Shipping, Mansukh Mandaviya, said on Saturday.

“I am happy to share that due to sustained efforts of various stakeholders including Ministry of Shipping, the Directorate General of Shipping and the High Commission of India, Abujam, Nigeria, the kidnapped India seafarers were successfully released and have reached the safe custody of the authorities,” Mandaviya said.

Five Indian sailors — Sudeep Chaudhary, Ankit Hooda, Chirag Yadav, Avinash Reddy and Moogu Ravi — were kidnapped from a vessel - MT Apecus - and then taken to Bonny Island, Nigeria on April 19 this year.

After the news of their kidnapping came, an Inter-Ministerial Group of Officers (IMGO) was set up by the Centre, under the Ministry of Shipping, to deal with the maritime security situation.

The Ministry of Shipping, through Directorate General of Shipping, contacted the Indian High Commission in Abujam, Nigeria and also closely coordinated with various agencies to secure their safe release. It may be recalled that Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had written to EAM S Jaishankar requesting his personal intervention in the matter.

EAM Praised

• Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan praised EAM Jaishankar, Mandaviya and the team for securing the safe release of the sailors. 
• The Minister said the five Indian sailors are now in safe custody.