New Delhi: A total of 28 rescued Indian seafarers aboard MT Royal Grace and MT Smyrni, which were hijacked by Somali pirates last year, are set to return to India today.
Some of the rescued Indian seafarers from merchant tanker MT Royal Grace are waiting for the arrival of a replacement crew before they can fly back to their families in India, said official sources yesterday.
The 17 Indian seafarers on board MT Royal Grace were in captivity since March 2, 2012, while 11 Indian seafarers on board MT Smyrni, a crude oil tanker, were in captivity since May 10 last year. Smyrni was loaded with 135,000 MT of Azerbaijan crude oil worth about $130m, destined for refineries in Balikpapan, Indonesia.
Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan had announced last week that the two ships had been freed of pirates. IANS
