TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: “We are not terrorists. Our job is to take cargo from one destination to another. Why are captains being targeted?” was the refrain of Captain Alben D’Silva, as Captains of Merchant Navy hailing from Goa on Tuesday came out in support of Capt Sunil James languishing in a Togo jail since July.
Captain D’Silva lamented that captains and seafarers are a forgotten lot, asserting that Capt Sunil James was forgotten by everyone, before the media took up his ordeal after the tragic death of his son.
And he feared that the Capt Sunil James episode and the unresolved pirates’ tangle facing seafaring community could impact young minds planning to make shipping as a career. “If the government does not secure the early release of Capt Sunil James and if there’s no security for seafarers from pirates, a time will come when our young boys may think twice before embarking to make shipping as a career”, he said.
Saying that armed guards aboard the vessels is a solution that can keep the pirates at bay, Capt D’Silva said that armed guards have helped reduce incidents in the Gulf of Aden, but piracy has now raised its ugly head in West Africa. “There’s been past incidents wherein our seafarers and captains were taken hostage by pirates for 2-3 years. No one can expect the captain of the ship or the seafarers to fight the pirates with weapons. The best solution is compulsory deployment of armed guards on the vessel when the ship is transiting Gulf of Aden”, he added.
Goan Seamen Association of India president Dixon Vaz said that captains, engineers and seafarers from Goa have all come together to show their solidarity with Capt Sunil James. “We have decided to hold a protest march on December 19 in Margao to show our solidarity with Capt James and to demand his early release”, he said.
GSAI functionary Frank Viegas said that GSAI is in constant touch with Capt James’ wife on the situation. “When I spoke to her on Tuesday, she said that there’s no solution yet and things may be known by December 27”, Viegas said.
Captain Miranda felt the Indian government should take up with its Togo counterpart to allow Capt James to return to India to attend to his son’s funeral.
The issue over the detention of Capt Sunil James in Togo jail came to the centre stage after his wife called on PM Dr Manmohan Singh, to secure his early release so that he returns home for the funeral of his son.
There’s been past incidents wherein our seafarers and captains were taken hostage by pirates for 2-3 years. No one can expect the captain of the ship or the seafarers to fight the pirates with weapons. The best solution is compulsory deployment of armed guards on the vessel when the ship is transiting Gulf of Aden
