More than two months after the ship MV Rezzak is suspected to have sunk with 25 Indians on board near Turkey, the Directorate General of Shipping has not been able to locate the vessel or know the whereabouts of its Indian crew.
It had sent an officer to Turkey and Russia, where the investigation took place, to be an observer. Now he is back and has submitted the report.
According to the report, the missing ship 'underestimated the prevailing weather and sea conditions'.
MV Rezzak, carrying steel billets and 25 Indian crew, left Russia on February 17 on a 24-hour journey to Turkey. But the ship went missing near the Turkish coast and there was no distress alarm from the ship.
The vessel is owned by a Turkish national and registered with Panama.
The report said Rezzak sailed from Russia in 'severe stormy weather conditions'.
Another vessel also sailed from the same port at the same time. But this vessel took shelter in a nearby land whereas Rezzak continued with its journey, it said.
The agency does not rule out the possibility of piracy and fraud angles as the reason for the ship going missing.
"The Directorate has been continuously taking up this matter with the lead investigating state Panama to conduct their safety investigation expeditiously by thoroughly encompassing the piracy and fraud angles, which have been raised and cannot be dismissed till the vessel can be located," it said.
