At sea: Facing Libyan justice, the trial of Morning Glory’s crew may just be starting

The crew members may be tried for ‘helping’ the rebels at gunpoint.

KARACHI:

“If my son was an accomplice of the Libyan rebels, would I be making frantic calls to international authorities, requesting them to conduct an operation against the kidnappers?” asks Shua-ul Qamar Shamsi, the father of the second officer onboard the ill-fated ship.

After US commandoes successfully carried out an operation on the oil tanker, Morning Glory, rescuing the 21-member crew from the clutches of Libyan rebels and seizing stolen Libyan oil, the fears of the families about their loved ones’ fate are far from over.

The ship — which has been taken over by US Navy Seals — has a Pakistani captain, Mirza Noman Baig, and five other Pakistanis in its crew — chief officer Ghufran Margoob, second officer Mehdi Shamsi, third officer Asif Hasan, Naik Zada and Muhammad Arshad.

Morning Glory is now moving towards a Libyan port. According to the international media, the cargo, with $20 million worth of oil, and the crew is to be handed over to the Libyan government by the Americans. If this happens, the families of the crew fear that their men may be wrongly implicated by Libyan authorities for assisting the rebels to load the oil onboard and then controlling the ship on their demands.

“Our men are innocent, their records can be checked,” said Shamsi, talking to The Express Tribune. “They were taken hostage by armed Libyans rebels and were forced to follow orders.”

Foreign media reports that the oil, which belongs to Libya’s national oil company, was loaded when rebels took over the North Korean tanker. The issue has sparked a crisis in Libya, who sought help from the US, asking them to intervene and bring back their cargo.

Here in Pakistan, the families’ only concern is to bring their people back home, safe and sound from what is turning into an increasingly complicated situation by the minute.

Shamsi has spent the last few days calling up NATO headquarters, Cyprus Marine Police and even the Pakistani Embassy in Libya — requesting for help. He vows not to rest until his 25-year-old son and the rest of the Pakistanis are back home.

From the government, there has been an indifferent response. “There is no money involved,” said Shamsi. “Hence, the government has no interest in this case because there is no commission.”

According to him, it was on February 25 that a 21-man crew gathered at the Egyptian port to travel in the oil tanker. The crew included six Pakistanis, six Indians, three Sri Lankans, two Sudanese, two Syrians and two Eritreans.

Initially destined for Tunisia, the captain of the ship received orders from the Dubai-based company and operator of the ship — Saud Shipping — to move towards a Libyan port, which was controlled by the rebels. “The rebels in Libya, brandishing arms, took them as hostage,” said Shamsi.

The stolen oil was loaded on the ship, the government and the Libyan rebels exchanged fire, but the crew remained unhurt. Three armed Libyans, carrying AK-47s, forced the crew to get the ship out of Libyan territory.

Calling Shamsi from the ship’s satellite phone, Mehdi told him that they were near Cyprus, when the rebels said that they are bringing 10 more people onboard, most likely more rebels.

The night when US commandoes raided the ship, the tense father paced his room, unable to sleep. Later, when he spoke to his son, who told him that they were safe and the armed men were in the custody of the Americans, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Mehdi’s wife, Nadia, a doctor by profession, vows not to let her husband go on a ship once he returns. “These times have been very stressful for him and for us. He has lost a lot of weight. I won’t let him out on the sea again.”

The captain

From Lahore, Captain Noman’s wife Qurratulain, asked on the phone why the government was not doing anything. “Do we only have Pakistani NICs just so we can vote for these heartless leaders? Why don’t they care for their people?” asks the desperate wife.

She recalls that her husband was once thrown off the ship for resisting the rebels, her voice cracks with emotion. “He almost drowned and had to be saved by the crew. Since he is responsible for the lives of the whole crew, he decided not to take any steps that may risk their lives.”

With two minor children in her house, she said that apart from Shamsi’s, no other family was stepping forward and raising the issue.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 23^rd, 2014.