Merchant navy captain from Ranchi dies near Strait of Hormuz; kin seek help to bring back body

The family claimed the ship had been stranded about 14 nautical miles off the Strait of Hormuz since February 28

Ranchi: Captain Rakesh Ranjan died on board a merchant vessel carrying oil near the Strait of Hormuz, his family said on Friday, urging the Centre and the Jharkhand government to help bring back his body.

Ranchi-based Ranjan (43) had joined the vessel, ‘ASP Avana- RPSL-MUM-172’, owned by a private company, on February 2.

According to his family, Ranjan died on March 18, allegedly because of a cardiac arrest.

They claimed the ship had been stranded about 14 nautical miles off the Strait of Hormuz since February 28, after movement was halted in the region because of the West Asia conflict.

"I request Chief Minister Hemant Soren to help bring my brother’s body back at the earliest. The company should also not create any hurdles in releasing his financial dues and entitlements, and the government should monitor the matter," his elder brother Umesh Singh said.

"In addition, I urge the central government, the Indian consulate in Dubai, and the company to hand over my brother’s body to us at the earliest," he added.

Singh said letters have been sent to CM Soren and Ranchi MP Sanjay Seth seeking assistance in bringing back the body.

"My younger brother was serving as the ship's captain. On March 18, the company informed us that he had fallen from his chair after losing consciousness, and efforts were made to provide medical assistance. However, permission for airlifting him was not granted. He was later taken by boat to Port Rashid in Dubai, where he was declared dead," Singh told PTI, adding that cardiac arrest was possibly the reason for his death.

He, however, said the family would wait for the post-mortem examination report, which would determine the cause of Ranjan’s death.

"The body has been kept at the mortuary of Port Rashid under police custody," Singh told PTI.

Singh said the family originally hails from Bihar Sharif in Bihar's Nalanda district, but Ranjan had been living in Ranchi with his wife and two children for nearly two decades.

Some representatives of the company visited the family here on Thursday and informed them that the legal process for handing over the body has been initiated, but was facing delays due to the three-day Eid holiday, he added.