Indian Sailor Vanishes in Ship at Baltic Port
Newindpress, India
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New Delhi/Gurgaon (India):
Mystery surrounds the disappearance of an Indian sailor on Sunday aboard a ship anchored at a Lithuanian port.
The company for which Gautam Malik worked says he either slipped into the sea at the port of Klaipeda or left the ship uninformed. But his family, which suspects foulplay, says Gautam is a good swimmer and point out that his mobile phone is unlikely to have remained on the ring mode if it had slipped into the sea.
Gautam's widowed mother, Kusum Malik (62), said in her his Sushant Lok house in Gurgaon: "The last I heard from him was on Saturday (October 8) morning... He sounded as chirpy as always. However, when I tried to contact him on Sunday morning, his cell (phone) wasn't reachable. I thought he was probably busy. But then...." When Kusum's phone rang in the evening she assumed it was her son, but was in for a nasty surprise. "The call was from Ebony Ship Management's Mumbai office. Fleet Management, Hong Kong, which Gautam joined in June, is part of the same group. He (the caller) said Gautam had gone missing and hung up. I couldn't believe my ears," said a shocked Kusum who rang up her daughters Neeti Malik and Preeti Sekhri, who live nearby.
Gautam boarded the ship from Sao Paulo soon after his April 2005 engagement. He was slated to return next January for his February 13 marriage.
"This is hell. For the last 48 hours we have been desperately seeking assistance from the company but have got little help. When we got in touch, they gave us two air tickets for Lithuania. This is a complete eyewash as no efforts have been made on the visa front..." said Gautam's sister.
"... the company is supposed to give us a letter from the ship's agent without which we cannot get a Lithuanian visa on arrival. The ship _ MV Spar Cetus _ is scheduled to sail for Latvia any moment. They are trying to thwart our visit there. We suspect foulplay which they are trying to hush up," the sailor's sister added.
The company first told Gautam's family that he must have slipped into the sea. "... First they mentioned that Gautam had gone for checking the draught (ship depth) and he had probably slipped. They assumed this as Gautam's walky-talky was lying nearby. They also mentioned that Gautam had left the ship uninformed... They say Gautam was last seen at 8am local time," Neeti said.
The sailor spoke to his fiancee in South Korea at 7.30 am local time.
"She called him back within half an hour and in spite of repeated attempts, Gautam didn't take the call though the phone went ringing... If Gautam had slipped by any chance, the mobile would have given the switched off message on dialling (once it was underwater)," Neeti said.
"When he knew his fiancee would be calling up, he wouldn't have possibly left his cell(phone) elsewhere," she added.
The family says Gautam is unlikely to have drowned for he was a good swimmer and had swum around 45 minutes on June 19, 1997 when the Arcadia Pride ran into trouble near Mumbai.
Oct 12, 2005
Newindpress, India
_________________
New Delhi/Gurgaon (India):
Mystery surrounds the disappearance of an Indian sailor on Sunday aboard a ship anchored at a Lithuanian port.
The company for which Gautam Malik worked says he either slipped into the sea at the port of Klaipeda or left the ship uninformed. But his family, which suspects foulplay, says Gautam is a good swimmer and point out that his mobile phone is unlikely to have remained on the ring mode if it had slipped into the sea.
Gautam's widowed mother, Kusum Malik (62), said in her his Sushant Lok house in Gurgaon: "The last I heard from him was on Saturday (October 8) morning... He sounded as chirpy as always. However, when I tried to contact him on Sunday morning, his cell (phone) wasn't reachable. I thought he was probably busy. But then...." When Kusum's phone rang in the evening she assumed it was her son, but was in for a nasty surprise. "The call was from Ebony Ship Management's Mumbai office. Fleet Management, Hong Kong, which Gautam joined in June, is part of the same group. He (the caller) said Gautam had gone missing and hung up. I couldn't believe my ears," said a shocked Kusum who rang up her daughters Neeti Malik and Preeti Sekhri, who live nearby.
Gautam boarded the ship from Sao Paulo soon after his April 2005 engagement. He was slated to return next January for his February 13 marriage.
"This is hell. For the last 48 hours we have been desperately seeking assistance from the company but have got little help. When we got in touch, they gave us two air tickets for Lithuania. This is a complete eyewash as no efforts have been made on the visa front..." said Gautam's sister.
"... the company is supposed to give us a letter from the ship's agent without which we cannot get a Lithuanian visa on arrival. The ship _ MV Spar Cetus _ is scheduled to sail for Latvia any moment. They are trying to thwart our visit there. We suspect foulplay which they are trying to hush up," the sailor's sister added.
The company first told Gautam's family that he must have slipped into the sea. "... First they mentioned that Gautam had gone for checking the draught (ship depth) and he had probably slipped. They assumed this as Gautam's walky-talky was lying nearby. They also mentioned that Gautam had left the ship uninformed... They say Gautam was last seen at 8am local time," Neeti said.
The sailor spoke to his fiancee in South Korea at 7.30 am local time.
"She called him back within half an hour and in spite of repeated attempts, Gautam didn't take the call though the phone went ringing... If Gautam had slipped by any chance, the mobile would have given the switched off message on dialling (once it was underwater)," Neeti said.
"When he knew his fiancee would be calling up, he wouldn't have possibly left his cell(phone) elsewhere," she added.
The family says Gautam is unlikely to have drowned for he was a good swimmer and had swum around 45 minutes on June 19, 1997 when the Arcadia Pride ran into trouble near Mumbai.
Oct 12, 2005
