'I told my daughter I'd be home': long ordeal ends for crew stranded at sea

'I told my daughter I'd be home': long ordeal ends for crew stranded at sea
17 June 2019 https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jun/17/long-ordeal-e...

'I told my daughter I'd be home': long ordeal ends for crew stranded at sea

Abandoned at sea in desperate conditions for 18 months, the MV Azraqmoiah’s crew have finally been reunited with their families

After 18 months stranded on a cargo vessel miles off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, with little food or water, no wages and little means of communication, Captain Ayyappan Swaminathan’s ordeal is finally over.

In April, the Guardian reported the story of Ayyappan and his 10-strong crew, one of the most extreme cases of seafarer abandonment in recent years.

On Sunday night, Ayyappan said his “cup is overflowing” with happiness after an emotional reunion with the family he hasn’t seen since he left India, in January 2017. Speaking from his home in Kumbakonam, with his wife, Menaka and daughter, Aniya, who turned seven last week, Ayyappan said: “I cannot describe what it felt like to hold my daughter again after so many days and nights. I’m really happy. She is also very happy.”

He last saw Aniya when she was four years old.