Returning home: Five Morning Glory crew members including captain reach Pakistan

LAHORE / KARACHI: The captain of Morning Glory, the oil tanker captured by rebels in Libya, reached Pakistan on Saturday at the Lahore airport, Express News reported. Four other Pakistani crew members - Mohammad Mehdi Shamsi, Syed Asif Hassan, Naik Zada and Mohammad Irshad – returned to Pakistan today as well at the Karachi airport. Shamsi, while speaking to the media at the airport, revealed that 17 bombs were fired at the oil tanker out of which two of them hit it. He added that he had been given a new life as he had escaped death. The Morning Glory oil tanker, owned by Dubai-based Saud Shipping, had set off to Tunisia on February 25 but its owners had told the crew to move towards Libya. At a Libyan port, the vessel and the crew were taken over by Libyan rebels, who had stolen national oil worth $20 million and loaded it on Morning Glory in a bid to sell it. Taking the crew hostage, the armed Libyans had forced them to move the ship out of the country’s territory and sail towards Cyprus. Captain Mirza Nauman Baig, while speaking to the media at the Lahore airport today, refused to disclose details regarding the incident saying that it can jeopardise the safety of the remaining crew members of the oil tanker still in Libya. He added that till all the crew members do not return to their homes it was his responsibility to ensure their safety. He further stated that efforts were being made for the release of the other crew members and he also expressed gratitude to the president of Pakistan for his help throughout this situation. The captain also stated that the chief officer, Ghuffran Marghoob, was yet to be handed over to the Pakistani authorities by the Libyan government as he was assisting the Libyan authorities in offloading the vessel. Taking action The Libyan government had appealed to the US to take action against the rebels after which the US Navy Seals conducted a raid, took the rebels into their custody, and brought the crew and the vessel back to Libya. Distressed families of the hostages had appealed to the president of Pakistan for the crew’s release. Following the appeals from the families, President Mamnoon Hussain had directed the foreign office and Pakistan’s ambassador to Libya to ensure the release and safe return of the Pakistani crew members. US promise Captain Baig arrived at his him in Lahore and while speaking to the media at his residence he stated that he assured his crew members that they were safe when the US saved them. The captain also said that “State Department of America and the US Navy promised that all my crew members will reach their homes safely.” “I would like to remind them of their promise. Please give some more effort to this so that all my crew members cannot return home safely,” he requested.