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A 22-year-old Pune man who was serving as a deck cadet on a merchant ship sailing from Indonesia to Singapore has been missing since April 5, his father said on Sunday.
Mr Pranav Karad, has been working with Wilhelmsen Ship Management for the past six months, the Press Trust of India news agency said.
“The ship was sailing to Singapore from Indonesia. We got a call on Friday night from the shipping company’s Mumbai office, saying our kid had vanished while he was on board. A search operation is underway to locate him,” his father Gopal Karad, a cab driver, said.
“We are trying to get assistance from the Central government. We have also contacted the police in Pune and Mumbai.”
The Indian Express reported on April 9 that Mr Pranav, a resident of Warje Malwadi in Pune, was a deck cadet on Resolve II, a gas tanker.
“We confronted the company officials asking them for CCTV footage from the ship, where Pranav could be last seen,” said his father.
“We asked them to explain his last known status and location on the ship. We asked them to connect us to the captain of the ship or other sailors who were with him. They refused to give us any information or cooperate with us.
“They are just telling us that the search operation is on and that they are doing everything they can. But don’t we have the right to know these things?
“We still don’t know how he went missing and what his state of mind was at the time. We don’t know the specifics of the search operation and nobody is telling us who is answerable for the incident.
“We even requested a meeting with the top officials of the Wilhelmsen Group but that request has also been rejected.”
Mr Pranav’s cousin Anun Mundhe said: “After meeting the police in Mumbai, we also met the officer from the Directorate General of Shipping.
“The officers have assured us full cooperation from their side. They have told us that they will keep us informed about the developments in the search operation.”
The last contact Mr Pranav made was with his maternal cousin Prithviraj, a day before he went missing, reported The Indian Express.
Wilhelmsen Ship Management has not made any comment on the incident.
