India’s external affairs minister Swaraj lauds Nigerian govt for finding ship with 22 on board

macfranc007 February 06, 2018 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Nigerian newspapers 24/7 David Oladele

- The India's external affairs ministry recently announced that the vessel marine express (oil tanker) went missing

- Also 22 Indians on board was presumably missing off the coast of Benin in the Gulf of Guinea

- The oil tanker was reportedly owned by Mumbai-based Anglo Eastern shipping company found by Nigerian federal government

India has thanked the governments of Nigeria and Benin for their help and support in locating a ship that went missing off West Africa coast with 22 Indians on board.

News Agency of Nigeria reports that India’s external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday, February 6, said the tanker had been released.

Swaraj, who, on Monday, sought the assistance of the Nigerian government in recovering the ship, shared the news of the release on her Twitter handle, @SushmaSwaraj.

She tweeted: ''I am happy to inform that Merchant Ship Marine Express with 22 Indian nationals on board has been released.''

In a later tweet, the minister further thanked the governments of Nigeria and Benin for their help and support.

The minister had earlier said that she spoke with Nigeria’s minister of foreign affairs Geoffrey Onyeama who “promised all help and assistance in locating the missing ship”.

She added that a helpline was also set up.

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The external affairs ministry had on Feb. 3 announced that the vessel Marine Express (oil tanker), owned by Mumbai-based Anglo Eastern shipping company with 22 Indians on board was “presumably missing off the coast of Benin in the Gulf of Guinea”.

The ministry’s spokesperson, Raveesh Kumar, tweeted that the Indian mission in the Abuja was in contact with authorities in Nigeria and Benin and both countries had coordinated efforts to locate the missing vessel.

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had reported that twenty seven ships laden with petroleum products, food items and other goods are expected to arrive in Apapa and Tin-Can Island Ports in Lagos from March 22 to April 4.

The Nigerian Ports Authority disclosed this in its publication in Lagos state.

NPA said that the 27 ships contained bulk wheat, general cargoes, steel products, diesel, crude palm olein, soya bulk corn, base oil, frozen fish, petrol, bulk corn, empty containers and containers laden with goods.

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