Kerala sailors, who were detained by the Nigerian Navy, returned home on Saturday after nine months. The seafarers met their families at the Kochi airport after returning from Cape Town in South Africa and thanked the Ministry of External Affairs for helping them.
According to news agency ANI, 16 Indian crew members on board the ship “MT Heroic Idun” were detained last year in Equatorial Guinea and then in Nigeria for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line.
The crude oil carrier had a crew of 26 including Milton D’Kouth of Mulavukad, Sanu Jose of Elamkulam and V. Vijith of Kollam.
There were 16 Indians, eight Sri Lankans and one each from the Philippines and Poland.
“There was a lot of excitement and a sense of freedom upon landing on home soil. Communication was the biggest problem during detention as our captors only allowed us access to mobile phones for a few minutes once a month or two. They wanted us not to talk to anyone other than our families,” The Hindu quoted Milton D’Kouth as saying.
The sailors recalled how, as soon as their detention ended, their condition worsened due to lack of food and water.
They said that the nature of the water was a great concern, leaving them powerless against disease such as typhoid. “We were locked up in a small room. It was painful to be treated like criminals despite having committed no crime.”
According to the report, the group was earlier detained by Equatorial Guinea on charges of violating its territorial waters.
She was turned over to the Nigerian Navy after being held by the naval force of Equatorial Guinea from 12 August.
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