More than a year after Indian officials first detained a Vietnamese-managed bulker on suspicion of cocaine smuggling the crew of the vessel is being released. This came after the crew earlier this month staged a work stoppage to protest their long detention and repeated efforts by the shipping company to have the vessel released.
A total of 12 of the 21 crewmembers, according to The Times of India, were released this morning, December 23, in Paradip Port and will be permitted to travel home. Officials told the newspaper that their release came only after 11 replacements, seven from Vietnam and four from India, had boarded the ship named Debi. Nine additional crewmembers remain aboard the ship but will be released when their replacements arrive.
The ordeal began when Debi, a 37,196 dwt bulker arrived from Indonesia on November 30, 2023, and first went into the anchorage and then moved to the terminal in the Indian port. The 611-foot bulker is registered in Panama and managed by a company in Vietnam. It was scheduled to transport a cargo of steel plate to Denmark.
A longshoreman spotted packages concealed from view and attached to the underside of a crane and reported it to the port authority. An inspection recovered 22 kilos of cocaine, which was reported to be the largest bust in Paradip Port. It had been attached to the cranes with magnets.
Indian authorities detained the ship and seized the crew’s electronics to determine if they were involved in the smuggling. They have remained in detention although no legal charges were filed against the crew. One engineer after an altercation on the ship jumped in an apparent suicide attempt but was rescued. The crew finally went on strike in late November while the ship had been transferred to the dock for replenishment.
An Indian court had ordered the ship sold. According to the news reports, the court rejected a new appeal this month to have the ship released.
The ship will continue to be detained according to the newspaper reports.
