‘Don’t know if he’s safe’: Merchant Navy engineer missing after Iran seizes tanker; family appeals to PM
Mukesh’s 27-year-old son Ketan Mehta, a third engineer in the Merchant Navy, was on board the tanker M T Valiant Roar that was seized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on December 8.
For more than a month now, his mobile phone has been Mukesh Mehta’s closest companion, and his fondest hope has been for it to ring with news of his only son.
Mukesh’s 27-year-old son Ketan Mehta, a third engineer in the Merchant Navy, was on board the tanker M T Valiant Roar that was seized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on December 8.
The IRGC, which intercepted the Valiant Roar in international waters off the port of Dibba, UAE, has alleged that the vessel was being used to smuggle 6,000 tonnes of fuel, news agency ANI reported on Thursday.
Ketan’s parents, who live in DLF Colony in Ghaziabad, said on Friday that they had heard of the seizure of the ship on December 9, but had not so far received any information through official channels on Ketan’s whereabouts or condition.
Ketan has been part of the commercial shipping industry for the past eight years, and is on contract with a company based in Dubai, the family said. They said they spoke to himlast on November 31, before he set sail. “He told us he would be back in two or three days. He always called before leaving and after returning,” Mukesh Mehta told The Indian Express.
Mukesh Mehta said the family had received a call on December 9 from an individual who had identified himself as Captain Vinod Parmar, the brother of the Valiant Roar’s captain Vijay Parmar. This person told them that Ketan had been arrested along with the other officers of the ship.
“We were shattered… So far, we haven’t heard anything directly about our son,” Mukesh Mehta said.
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According to the Mehtas, Ketan’s tanker was transporting diesel between Iran and Dubai when it was intercepted. “It seems the Iranians picked them up, but it could also be someone else. We have been told that those waters are under heavy surveillance because of restrictions on the transport of oil,” Mukesh Mehta said.
Mehta said the family believed that some of the ship’s crew had been released, but around 10 crew members, including Ketan, remained in custody. “We have no information — whether he is safe, where he is being kept, if he is being fed, what condition he is in,” he said.
Ketan was contracted through Elysian Wave Marine Private Limited, a Navi Mumbai-based shipping services provider, the family said.
They said he had left India on June 29 after renewing his passport, and his six-month contract was due to end on December 31. “Every six months, he would come back home,” Mehta said.
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Ketan’s mother, Rajni Mehta, who suffers from a heart condition, has had to be admitted to hospital, Mehta said. “She has been crying constantly. We try to hold ourselves together somehow, but she can’t,” Mehta said.
The family is originally from Rajkot, and Mukesh Mehta is an accountant with a private trust. Ketan is the couple’s only son; they
have two daughters who are married.
The family has written to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of External Affairs, and to the office of the UP Chief Minister. “For the past month, we have knocked on every door we could,” Mehta said.
The family has appealed directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention to ensure Ketan’s return.
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“The matter is grave. Our son is innocent and was just doing his job. We beg the Prime Minister to use his diplomatic influence to bring our son back home before it’s too late,” the ANI report quoted Mukesh Mehta as saying.
Saman Husain is a Correspondent at The Indian Express. Based in New Delhi, she is an emerging voice in political journalism, reporting on civic governance, elections, migration, and the social consequences of policy, with a focus on ground-reporting across Delhi-NCR and western Uttar Pradesh.
Professional Profile
Education:
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science (Honours) from Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, and is an alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai.
Core Beats:
Her reporting focuses on the national capital’s governance and politics. She specializes in Delhi’s civic administration and the city units of the BJP, AAP and Congress. In western Uttar Pradesh, she mostly reports on crime.
Specialization:
She has a keen interest in electoral processes and politics — her recent contributions include work on electoral roll revisions.
Recent Notable Articles (since July 2025)
Her recent work reflects a strong show-not-tell approach to storytelling, combining narrative reporting with political and historical context:
1. Politics:
“On the banks of the Yamuna, a political tussle for Purvanchali support” (October 6): A report on how migration histories shaped electoral strategies in Delhi before the Bihar elections.
“Explained: How Delhi’s natural drainage vanished gradually over the centuries” (September 29): An explanatory piece tracing the historical reasons that eventually led to the erosion of Delhi’s rivers and its impact on perrenial flooding.
2. Longforms
“Four weddings, three funerals: How a Uttar Pradesh man swindled insurance companies” (October 7): A long-read reconstructing a chilling fraud by a man who killed three of his family members, including both his parents for insurance proceeds. His fourth wife discovered his fraud…
“How Ghaziabad conman operated fake embassy of a country that doesn’t exist — for 9 years” (July 27) : A story on bizarre fraud operation and the institutional blind spots that enabled it.
3. Crime and Justice:
“He was 8 when his father was killed. Fifteen years later, in UP’s Shamli, he took revenge” (October 18): A deeply reported crime story tracing cycles of violence, memory and justice in rural Uttar Pradesh.
“Who killed 19 girls in Nithari? With the SC rejecting appeals, there are no answers and no closure” (July 31): A report capturing the long legal and emotional aftermath of one of India’s most chilling unsolved criminal cases.
4. Policy Impact
“At Manthan, over US tariffs, Delhi-NCR’s apparel industry brainstorms solutions” (September 8) and “Trump’s 50% tariff begins to bite: Agra’s leather belt feels the impact” (August 13) : Reports documenting how global trade decisions ripple through local industries, workers and exporters.
Signature Style
Saman is recognized for her grassroots storytelling. Her articles often focus on the "people behind the policy". She is particularly skilled at taking mundane administrative processes and turning them into compelling human narratives.
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