On thursday, an oil tanker went missing in the Gulf of Guinea, off the Benin in West Africa, with a crew of 22 indian nationals.
What happened?
The situation came to limelight when the Panama-registered Marine Express couldn’t be contacted on Thursday. The 22 membered oil tanker was carrying 13,500 tonnes of gasoline through the Gulf of Guinea when the incident occured.
A similar incident had happened in the area less than a month ago, when another vessel was taken by pirates. In January, the ship was hijacked in the same area but was released six days later when a ransom was paid.
The Foreign Ministry intervenes
The issue has been taken up by the Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj who said that her government was working with authorities in the region. The Benin Navy is searching for the lost vessel, said a spokesperson from the International Maritime Bureau.
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