Ending wait: Morning Glory crew to come home today

Chief Officer Gufran Marghoob yet to be handed over to Pakistani authorities by the Libyan government.

LAHORE/ KARACHI:

The Pakistani crew of Morning Glory, the oil tanker captured by rebels in Libya, are to return home today (Saturday), The Express Tribune has learnt. 

Five out of the six members — Captain Mirza Nauman Baig, Mohammad Mehdi Shamsi, Syed Asif Hassan, Naik Zada and Mohammad Irshad — are expected to be flown back to Pakistan today while the chief officer, Ghuffran Marghoob, is yet to be handed over to the Pakistani authorities by the Libyan government.

Marghoob was assisting the Libyan authorities in offloading the vessel and was to be handed over to the Pakistani authorities. However, nothing much has been done so far.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Marghoob’s brother Hassan confirmed that the Libyan government is yet to hand over the chief officer to the Pakistani authorities.

“We are tense because all the other crew members have been released except for Marghoob. He was asked by the Libyan government to assist in the offloading of the oil tanker but has not been set free so far.”

Hassan said that the process of offloading has not started and it would take 10 to 15 days for the procedure to complete. “Marghoob told me that he is no more needed at the ship because new Libyan crew is present, along with a new chief officer. He is not being asked to do anything so why is he being kept there?”

The Morning Glory oil tanker, owned by Dubai-based Saud Shipping, had set off to Tunisia on February 25 but its owners told the crew to move towards Libya. At a Libyan port, the vessel and the crew were taken over by Libyan rebels, who stole national oil worth $20 million and loaded it on Morning Glory in a bid to sell it.

Taking the crew hostage, the armed Libyans forced them to move the ship out of the country’s territory and sail towards Cyprus. The Libyan government appealed to the US government to take action against the rebels and the US Navy Seals conducted a raid, took the rebels into their custody, and brought the crew and the vessel back to Libya.

Distressed families of the hostages had appealed to the president for the crew’s release. Following the appeals from the families, President Mamnoon Hussain directed the foreign office and Pakistan’s ambassador to Libya to ensure the release and safe return of the Pakistani crew members.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 5^th, 2014.