St Valor Crew members on their way home

Muscat, Nov 22: Finally, it is rejoicing time for the family of the crew members of MT Stolt Valor as they will begin their journey back home on Saturday, Nov 22. The ship will dock in Muscat allowing the crew to fly bak home while the ship is piloted by a replacement crew. In Muscat, the crew will be attended to by doctors and psychologists arranged for by the vessels owner, the Central Marine Company. A 24x7 helpdesk has been set up to provide the crews families with updates and professional counselling, to help them deal with the trauma.

Soon after the ship was anchored in Muscat, Captain Prabhat Goyal spoke to TIMES NOW and expressed relief and joy. He said, "At 08.30 Muscat time I dropped the anchor. All my crew are safe and healthy. We have just dropped the anchor and I will be completing the necessary formalities here. It may take 2-3 days to complete the same. I don't know when we will be signing off. But we will call you up and let you know."

"In the past 36 hours, my crew is relaxed that we are in safe hands and safe waters. I am very happy. I just got a call from my wife and brother-in-law. After maybe more than 2 months, I am wearing my stripes today, which I had taken off in front of the hijackers. Everyone at the moment is waiting to return back home." he said

The Stol Valor captained by Prabhat Kumar Goyal was hijacked off the coast of Somalia on the 15th of September. After long negotiations the crew was finally released after a ransom of USD 2.5 million dollars was paid by the Japanese firm that own the Valor.

OneIndia News