Relatives of one of the sailors claimed that pirates had initially demanded $15 lakh and later raised it to $25 lakh for the release of the crew but it was not clear whether the ransom was paid or not.
A South Korean court on Friday granted bail to the two Indian sailors jailed in South Korea in December for their role in the country's worst oil spill. "They have been given bail but they cannot come to India now," National Union of Seafarers of India general secretary Abdulgani Y Serang said. Their bail is conditional and the matter is pending with the Supreme Court in Seoul, Serang said, adding that the legal proceedings might take some time.
Two Indian sailors, jailed for a year in South Korea after a crane barge collided with their crude carrier leading to a major oil spill in December 2007, were on Thursday acquitted by the Supreme Court in Seoul and are expected to return home soon. Captain Jaspreet Chawla and Chief Officer Shyam Chetan, who had got conditional bail in January, "will be coming to India in two days," General Secretary of the National Union of Seafarers of India Abdulgani Y Serang said.
The M T Stolt Valor, which had been hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden in September, has been released, according to the National Union of Seafarers of India. There were 18 Indian soldiers on board the hijacked ship. Initial reports said that ransom was paid to the pirates by the Japanese owners Stolt Tankers. Reports said that all crew members on board are safe. The ship has left for Mumbai and will reach in three to four days.
Following an international agreement between the National Union of Seafarers of India and 'manning agents' who recruit them, the wages of seafarers have been hiked with effect from January 1, 2004.
The trade to-and-from India so far is not affected. But if the situation continues to remain the same for the next two to three months, it could definitely hurt India trade, including essential cargo.
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