It may be recalled that M.T. Stolt Valor was hijacked by Somali pirates near the Gulf of Aden on 15th September, 2008. This ship had 18 Indians on board including the Master. The entire issue was complicated by the fact that the ship owner was Japanese, flag Hong Kong, Charterer Norwegian and the crew mainly Indians.

The Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways, Thiru T. R. Baalu had met the External Affairs Minister Thiru Pranab Mukherjee to discuss the steps to be taken with regard to this issue . The matter was also discussed with Ministry of Defence. A delegation under Capt. P.V.K.Mohan, Chairman National Shipping Board also visited Japan in this connection. It may be recalled that the Indian Navy recently deployed its vessel in the Gulf of Aden, which had succeeded in repulsing the hijack of an Indian Merchant Vessel “Jag Arnav” and another vessel of Saudi Arabian origin soon after its deployment.

Thiru T.R. Baalu has been personally monitoring the progress on a day-to-day basis to ensure that sufficient efforts were made for the release of the ship. The Hon'ble Minister has expressed relief and happiness and conveyed his best wishes for a safe journey home to all the crew members. He has also conveyed his best wishes to the family members of the crew who have been suffering this ordeal.

18 Indians on the ship are : Capt.P.K.Goyal, Ullas Krishna, Lalatendu Maharana, Naveed Burondkar, Santosh Patil, Santosh Kumar, Jagan Achary, Omprakash Shukla, Simhachalam Gondu, Suryanarayana Chodipilli, Bijender, Nihal Singh, Anil Kumar, Pani Rayan Lobo, Jerapin Pellarmin, Dipak Kumar Tandel, Isidore Fernandes and Allister Fernandes. Two of these crew members Pani Rayan Lobo and Jerapin Pellarmin are from Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu.

The other four crew members belonged to Bangladesh, Philippines and Russia.#