The news of the release of the crew of MT Stolt Valor by Somali pirates has brought a glimmer of hope to family members of the missing crew of MV Rezzak. A crew of 25 had gone missing on board MV Rezzak on February 18 this year off the Turkish coast of Bartin in Black Sea.

“How can we believe the announcement made by the agent in Mumbai that the ship has sunk? Within a month of the ship going missing family members of a crew member were able to dial his number successfully and there was also a response from the other side,” says Raj Tyagi, mother of Second Officer Pankaj Tyagi. It was a missing crew member Pritam Singh who had reportedly picked up the phone.

She is of the firm opinion that either the ship was hijacked by a mafia group or there is an insurance scandal behind the episode.

“An agent named Vishwas has been sending across some insurance papers to us asking for our signatures regarding the claim. But we have rejected his persuasion till now. How can we sign the papers without there being any proof of the ship being wrecked or sunk,” Raj Tyagi told The Indian Express.

She said it was difficult to come to terms with the information regarding a ship gone missing when modern day technology ensures that its whereabouts are tracked even if it is under water.