Last crew member of hijacked Morning Glory arrives in Karachi

Chief officer thanks people of Pakistan, officials who ensured his release.

KARACHI: Chief Officer Ghufran Marghoob, the last remaining Pakistani crew member of the hijacked vessel Morning Glory,  arrived in Karachi on Wednesday, Express News reported.

Marghoob’s family members along with social activist Ansar Burney were present at the Karachi airport to welcome him home.

The vessel’s five crew members – Captain Mirza Nauman Baig, Second Officer Mehdi Shamsi, Third Officer Syed Asif Hassan and Naik Zada and Muhammad Irshad – arrived in Pakistan on April 5.

Marghoob had, however, stayed back on the request of the Libyan government to help in the vessel’s offloading.

Speaking to the media on his arrival, Marghoob thanked the people of Pakistan for their support and all the officials who ensured his release.

Hijacking

The six Pakistanis were part of a 21-member crew onboard Morning Glory oil tanker, which was hijacked by Libyan rebels in March when it was on its way Tunisia.

The armed Libyans offloaded the country’s oil on the vessel and forced the crew to move the ship out of Libyan territory.

However, the ship was rescued by US Navy Seals after an operation near Cyprus. They also took three armed rebels into their custody, and moved the vessel back to Libya.