Bucharest: All nine Indian seafarers on board chemical tanker YARA J are safe and the vessel has arrived at the Port of Constanta in Romania, the Embassy of India in Bucharest said on Saturday.
The confirmation came after India’s Ambassador to Romania, Manoj Mohapatra, spoke with Romanian authorities and the Company Security Officer (CSO) of the tanker.
“Amb. Manoj Mohapatra spoke with Romanian authorities, including SAR Romania and MRCC Constanta, as well as the CSO of the chemical tanker YARA J (IMO: 9221803). It was confirmed that all nine Indian seafarers on board are safe and the vessel has arrived at the Port of Constanta. The Ambassador assured them of the Government of India’s full support and assistance,” the Embassy posted on X.
Last week, three Indian nationals rescued from the commercial vessel MV Royad Mammadov, which came under attack in the Black Sea, departed from Romania for India, the Embassy had said.
“Three Indian nationals, Shri Sahil Sandhu, Shri Ashwini Kumar and Shri Harman Singh, departed for India today. The Embassy provided all necessary support and assistance to facilitate their return,” the Embassy had posted on X.
“We express our sincere gratitude to the Romanian authorities, Constanta County Hospital, and the Romanian rescue teams for their invaluable assistance, cooperation and support,” it added.
The three Indians were rescued from the vessel on October 6.
On October 7, India condemned attacks targeting commercial vessels in the Black Sea region and reiterated its call for dialogue and diplomacy to de-escalate tensions and enable an early return of peace in the region.
Addressing a bi-weekly media briefing in New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that attacks targeting commercial vessels threaten commercial shipping and endanger the lives of the seafaring community.
“We have seen a string of attacks targeting commercial vessels in the Black Sea region in the last one or two days. We condemn such attacks that threaten commercial shipping and endanger lives of our seafaring community. First, the commercial vessel MV Royad Mammadov came under attack while it was flying in the Black Sea. There were three Indian nationals onboard. All of them are safe, but one of them got injured, and he is receiving treatment. We thank the Romanian authorities who lent us a helping hand and have been very helpful in this particular incident,” Jaiswal added.
–IANS–
