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Elkhan Polukhov: â€œAs a result of the measures taken by Foreign Ministry Azerbaijani crew members of the Mira ship returned to the motherlandâ€

27 May 2009 11:56 (UTC +04:00)

He said that under the decision of the court, the ship was to stay in the place it had been detained, the crew was banned to leave the ship till the end of the hearing.
â€œ8 members of the 24-member crew were Azerbaijanis, 16 members, including captain were citizens of Turkey. On April 29, the crew of the Mira contacted Azerbaijani embassy in India and said they had been in the ship for a long time, could not leave the chip, the hearing was delayed and they wanted to return to motherland. They also said the port administration had taken their passports, and asked the embassy to help them,â€ he said.

Elkhan Polukhov said Azerbaijani embassy in India had meetings in Foreign Ministry and Interior Ministry.
â€œThe ministries were asked to help return the passports of our citizens and allow them to leave India. Indian Foreign Ministry sent a letter to our embassy saying they do not object to the returning of the sailors. Despite this, Alang port administration did not allow the Azerbaijanis to leave the ship saying the Azerbaijanis were the main specialists in the ship and taking into account the security of the ship. Azerbaijani embassy held discussions with Indian lawyers to ensure urgent hearing of the case, initial agreement was reached to defend the interests of our sailors in the court. Agreement was reached in the talks with Bhavnagar port administration and the shipâ€™s agent to keep health and conditions of the sailors under control and extra food and fuel was sent to the ship,â€ he said.
Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said Mira has become overflood since May 20. â€œConsidering the emergency situation in the ship, the embassy asked the government of India to tow the ship to the coast urgently and to provide the security of crew members. Additional fuel and rescue boat were sent to Mira to prevent the emergency situation and crew members were disembarked with the rescue boat. The embassy held negotiations with foreign and interior ministries of India, the shipâ€™s agent, administration of Alang port, border service authorities, court and police of the city of Bhavnagar to prevent the threat of bringing to justice for unauthorized leaving the ship, as well as to get back the passports of Azerbaijani citizens and to confirm their entrance-departure visas. The embassy could achieve the departure of Azerbaijani crew members from Bhavnagar for Mumbai and then the sailors were sent to Istanbul at their own request. At the request of the Foreign Ministry and Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Istanbul requested Palmali Group assisted the Azerbaijani sailors to stay in Istanbul and then to leave for Baku. The citizens of Azerbaijan returned home on May 27 safe and sound as a result of measures taken by the ministryâ€.