INS Godavari reaches freed MV Suez

New Delhi, Jun 16: INS Godavari, the Indian Naval Ship sent to escort freed MV Suez has finally reached alongside the Naval vessel and is expected to reach Oman tonight.

Earlier, MV Suez was in the escort of Pakistan's Naval ship, PNS Babar. According to media reports the freed sailors will fly back to India on Friday, Jun 17.

"The boiler in the engine room is not working, so our speed has slowed down from 15 knots to 8 knots," said Wasi Hasan, the captain of the ship.

He also said that there was only eight tons of diesel left on board which is not enough to reach Salalah, Oman.

INS Godavari was sent to escort MV Suez after India failed to help its own nationals earlier, attracting public criticism.

The abandoned Navy vessel MV Suez, that was released by Somali pirates on Monday, Jun 13, was attacked again by pirates on Wednesday, Jun 15.

The six Indian sailors who are set out to come back home after spending ten months being held hostage by Somali pirates in Gulf of Aden were released after paying a huge ransom by Ansar Burney, a Pakistani human rights activist.

Abdul Mathar, the owner of the ship told the media that it took long for them to establish contact with the crew on the ship. He also thanked Ansar Burney, the Pakistani human rights activist for his efforts and said that it was him who negotiated with the pirates and brought down the amount to $2 million.

Pakistan and India were supposed to raise $500,000 and $60,000 respectively, whereas the Egyptian shipping company was supposed to give $1million. Despite of setting a deadline, India had failed to fulfill its promise.

OneIndia News