Indian Seafarer Found Dead In Arabian Sea, Another Missing From Merchant Ship

In an alarming turn of events, a 21-year-old Indian sailor from Maharashtra has gone missing from a merchant ship travelling from Saudi Arabia to India, while in a separate incident, the body of a 23-year-old Merchant Navy employee from Rajasthan was found floating in the Arabian Sea.

Yash Avinash Deore, a resident of Deur village in Maharashtra’s Dhule district, went missing from the MT Athina I, a merchant ship travelling from Oman to Alang, India.

He joined the merchant navy in June 2024 as an Ordinary Seaman (OS) through Swaraj Marines Pvt Ltd, a company based in Thane.

On January 30, his father received a call from the company, informing him that Yash was missing and that a search operation was underway. Concerned about his son’s safety, he immediately reached out to his elder son, Nayan Deore, who works in Pune.

Nayan travelled to Thane to meet with company representatives but was reportedly not satisfied with the information provided. He then approached the Directorate General (DG) of Shipping in Mumbai, which instructed the company to provide a complete report on Yash’s disappearance.

The family received details from the ship captain about the search efforts, but no concrete answers regarding Yash’s fate.

On February 2, Nayan filed an application at Naupada police station in Thane, requesting help in locating his brother. Since the incident took place in international waters, the police did not register a missing person case but asked the company to provide information about Yash’s whereabouts.

In another case, Sunil Pachar, a 23-year-old from Rajasthan, who had been working as a temporary employee on a Merchant Navy ship since November 2024, was reported missing after he went to sleep on the ship’s deck on Monday night and was later found untraceable.

When his colleagues failed to find him on board, they filed a complaint at Yellow Gate police station in Mumbai. On Wednesday, locals at Sassoon Dock noticed a body floating in the Arabian Sea and informed the authorities. The police retrieved the body in the afternoon and later identified it as Pachar.

Initial reports indicate that he may have drowned, but the exact cause of death will be confirmed after an autopsy. His body has been sent to St. George’s Hospital for further examination. The Colaba police have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) and are conducting an investigation.

Both cases have raised concerns over crew safety aboard merchant ships, with families desperately seeking answers about their missing and deceased loved ones.

Reference: Deccan Herald, Indian Express

Source: Maritime Shipping News