The Mission to Seafarers call for help
Global maritime welfare charity, The Mission to Seafarers, today called upon the help of the British public to help the imprisoned crew of the MV Seaman Guard Ohio in India by signing an online petition set up on the lobbying website change.org. Over 93,000 signatures have already been collected by Yvonne MacHugh, partner of one of the British men being detained, who set up the petition.
35 seafarers, including six British men, have been held for nearly five months in prison in Chennai, for allegedly carrying guns illegally and have already been refused bail. The families of the British men, who are all ex-soldiers, are adamant that the men are innocent, and that the ship was returning from patrol in the Gulf to protect merchant shipping from the threat of pirates, still a very real danger to merchant vessels. Increasingly the shipping industry has hired private security vessels to escort ships in the most treacherous seas, to help them stay safe.
The Revd Canon Ken Peters, director of justice and public affairs at The Mission to Seafarers said: “The seafarers that have been arrested by the authorities in south east India have been detained for a very long time, and the families of the crew in the UK are desperately worried for their health and wellbeing. We are working with the families and our contacts in India to provide prison-visiting and counselling support, plus I have held meetings with the UK government here in London at the highest level to ensure that the case remains a high priority.
“Piracy is a daily threat to shipping in the Gulf, so we absolutely understand why patrol vessels are needed and are legitimate. The MV Seaman Guard Ohio seems to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time and there were clearly errors made; however, we would urge the British public who have not signed the petition to do so. If the number of signatures reaches 100,000 we hope to open a further debate about the matter in the House of Commons. We also appeal again to the good judgement of the Indian government to do all they can to help speed up the process.“
Source: The Mission to Seafarers