They will be transferred to a hotel in Malabo, according to the 16 Indian sailors who had sent out an SOS on Thursday. The crew member from Sri Lanka fell and had to be brought to the hospital, therefore the seamen refused to leave the port.
The crew of the Heroic Idun had been informed earlier in the day that they would be transported to Equatorial Guinea’s capital as a result of diplomatic intervention by the Indian government. They later resisted leaving the harbour.
The crew members can be seen waiting at the dock in the most current Equitorial Guinea footage. A sailor can be heard in the video indicating that they have been waiting there without food or water for a long time.
In another clipping, the crew members can be seen refusing to depart from the port, saying they weren’t ready to go without the Sri Lankan member in the hospital.
Roshan Arora, the third officer on the ship, appealed to India’s PM Narendra Modi and the foreign ministry to launch an intervention and rescue them.
Equatorial Guinea is said to have seized the 26-member crew, 16 of which are Indian, for allegedly violating maritime limits. On the basis of directives from Nigeria’s defence department, the entire squad was taken into prison.
The Norwegian ship’s owner claimed in one of the earlier announcements that they had paid a ransom to free the crew and ship. However, it appears that the Guinean Navy chose to continue the incarceration.
After more than 80 days in detention, the sailors reportedly sent an SOS text to the Indian government on November 9 and conveyed information about the potential transfer of the captured crew members to Nigeria.
The ship’s third officer, Roshan Arora, appealed to both the foreign leaders and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The crew members, including 16 Indians, were seen holding the national flags and placards with the message — save us.
