MV Medstar stowaways near Kandla, request asylum

However, the P&I Club at Bremen, Germany which established contact for sometime with the ship’s master, confirmed that the stowaways were not carrying any bombs or arms and had only said they did to prevent the ship from turning back to Bandar Abbaas.

Officials at Kandla port said the ship was sailing east towards Kandla but is quite far from the Indian waters. A Coast Guard aircraft and two vessels are continuously monitoring the vessel’s movement.

Captain J S Kalra of Pearl Shipping Agency said: "We have been receiving telex messages since morning. There seems to be no headway, but negotiations are on and the UNHCR is trying to make arrangements to arrange asylum for them."

The Coast Guard which is continuously monitoring the progress of the ship said they received a message that the stowaways have asked to be disembarked at any European port. "The negotiations are progressing slowly and they are cruising in the Gulf of Yemen in an easterly direction," officials informed.

KPT chairman A K Joti said that Kandla port authorities have requested the Navy and Coast Guard to intercept the vessel at the mouth of Gulf of Kutch in case she arrives there to declare the vessel harmless of any explosive etc. "Once the Navy and Coast Guard declare the vessel sanitised, it can proceed on a normal course towards Kandla Port for cargo operations," Joti added.

Nevertheless, a SRPF unit of 75 personnel, 32 commandos from Gandhinagar and four bomb disposal squads from Rajkot and Junagadh have been rushed to Kandla.