KOCHI: Relatives of the Indian crewmembers of the missing ship Jupiter-6 are planning to move a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court seeking to get the Government to trace the ship and the crew.

At a press conference here on Sunday, the relatives alleged that the Government was not taking effective steps to trace the ship or secure information about the crew. Wives of two crewmembers and the cousin of another, who attended the news conference along with functionaries of the Chennai-based Sailors' Helpline, said the families, besides suffering from mental agony, were in deep financial crisis. They had petitioned Government functionaries, MPs, Ministers and politicians, but in vain.

The relatives of the crew said Pelican Marine, the Mumbai-based shipping agency that recruited the seafarers, was indifferent to their pleas for the salaries of the crewmembers.

Jupiter 6, a tug, with 10 Indians and three Ukranians as crewmembers onboard, has been missing since September 5 last year. Of the 10 crewmembers, one was from Kerala four from Minicoy in Lakshadweep and the rest from the northern States.

The tug, with an unmanned dead ship in tow, had left Walvis Bay, Namibia, on August 21, for India via Port Louis, Mauritius. It vanished on September 5. The last message from the ship was on September 5 when the ship was 2030 nautical miles (around 4,000 km) off Mauritius.

The shipping agency had not paid the salaries of the crew for the last 11 months. The office of the director-general of shipping, whenever contacted, replied that they were still investigating, the relatives said.

Manoj Joy of Sailors' Helpline said that since the Government had failed to initiate necessary action, the relatives had decided to move a public-interest litigation. They were approaching the apex court as the crewmembers hailed from different States. Mr. Joy said that if it were any other country, it would have taken steps to find the whereabouts of its nationals.

P.P. Koya, Lakshadweep MP, told The Hindu that he had petitioned the Ministry of External Affairs and the Director General of Shipping to find the whereabouts of the crew. He had also urged Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi to intervene. The External Affairs Ministry had contacted the Namibian Government, but it was yet to receive any reply.

Dr. Koya suspected that pirates had stolen the ship and changed its identity.

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