Iran has released a video of what it said was the crew of the UK-flagged tanker Stena Impero. While the vessel was sailing under a UK flag, Stena Bulk is headquartered in Sweden, and the 23 seafarers on board hail from India, Latvia, Philippines and Russia.
The family of Dijo Pappachan, one of the Indian nationals on board, told CNN they have not had any contact with him since Friday.
Pappachan’s cousin, Joseph Vincent, said Pappachan called his family on Friday and spoke to his mother for about one hour. On Saturday morning, Stena Bulk’s head office in Mumbai informed the family that he was on the captured ship.
Stena Bulk said it was in contact with both the UK and Swedish governments and that local staff in the crew’s four home countries were “in constant touch with the families” of the crew and will “continue to do everything humanly possible to keep them informed and to support them in every way we can.”
In an exclusive interview on Monday, the company’s CEO Erik Hanell told CNN that Iranian authorities are still not communicating with them, but they have heard indirectly that the crew is in good health “considering the circumstances.”
He added that they not spoken to the crew directly.
Via CNN / The Guardian
