Sailors’ families rejoice

Weighed down by the crisis that hit them and 18 other families living across the country, the Mishra family from Kalyan subsisted on just enough food to keep their bodies moving.

Since the hijacking of Japanese oil tanker MT Stolt Valor on September 15 in the Gulf of Aden by Somalian pirates, the sailors’ families have lived in partial mourning.

But Sunday was their day of cheer, after news of the ill-fated ship heading home brought relief.

“Ever since the first call from my nephew, we have had sleepless nights,” said Dr L Mishra, the maternal uncle of Om Prakash Shukla, one of the captives on the ship. “It was 4 am when the first call came. They forced Om to call and plead, and then called after every five days.”

Mishra said that the family had eaten a proper lunch only on Sunday. “It is difficult to bear the tension of a sister’s son, he added.”

Mishra said he rushed to the famous Ganesh temple at Titwala to offer thanks after his wish was fulfilled. “I distributed sweets at my clinic, too,” he said.

It was also time to rejoice for the Patils, who live in Malad. Nineteen-year-old cadet Santosh Patil, another crew member, turns 20 on November 19. His family, which did not celebrate Diwali or Prashant’s mother’s birthday on November 14 in his absence, had a celebration on Sunday, as the good news coincided with his sister’s birthday.

“The news came as a relief early morning on my birthday. And our well-wishers congratulated me on my brother’s safety,” said Santosh’s sister, Suvarna Patil, 23.
“We wanted to celebrate the birthday together on November 19, but he won’t be here by then, as they are coming by ship.” The family plans to celebrate with Maharashtrian goodies like faral and chiwda, which Santosh loves.

Prashant Rangnekar, general manager of Ebony Ship Management that had engaged the crew, said, “We are relieved after all this. It was very difficult for us to manage. We had relatives coming regularly and they wanted updated information. Apart from setting up a helpdesk for this, we also tried to get them to speak to the owners.”

Rangnekar said that once the sailors landed, they would receive psychiatric help, counselling and medical assistance. “We expect them to spend some time with their families. Whatever help they need will be provided by us,” he added.

Meanwhile, Seema Goyal in Dehradun just could not restrain herself from hugging her three children ever since she heard that her husband Captain Prabhat Kumar Goyal and 17 sailors aboard MT Stolt Valor have been released by the pirates. “I don’t know what to say. This is happiest news of my life,” said Seema. The family — Prabhat’s parents, Seema and the kids — distributed sweets, as neighbours gathered at their home on hearing the good news. Seema said, “They will be reaching India in another four-five days.”

(With inputs from agencies)