NEW DELHI, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- India has urged Nigeria to step up its efforts in locating a ship that went missing off West Africa coast with 22 Indians on board last week.
Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has said that she personally spoke to her Nigerian counterpart Geoffrey Onyeama who assured her of all assistance in locating oil tanker Marine Express that went missing off Benin coast in the Gulf of Guinea earlier this month.
"I have just spoken to Foreign Minister of Nigeria regarding missing Merchant Ship with 22 Indian nationals on board. Hon'ble Foreign Minister of Nigeria has promised all help and assistance in locating the missing ship," Swaraj tweeted late Monday night.
However, a senior official has said that no ransom call has been received so far.
The Panama-registered vessel tanker vessel, owned by Mumbai-based Anglo Eastern shipping company, has been carrying gasoline worth nearly 8 million U.S. dollars when it lost contact on Feb. 1.
Anglo Eastern Ship Management has said that the crew's safety is its top priority.
"We regret that contact has been lost with the AE-managed MT Marine Express while at Cotonou, Benin. Last contact was at 03:30 UTC, Feb. 1. Authorities have been alerted and are responding," the company tweeted.
The region near Benin, especially the Gulf of Guinea, is known to be pirate-infested, and several ships have been targeted. In January, another ship went missing off the coast of Benin and two days later, it was confirmed to have been hijacked.
