NEW DELHI: India has sought the help of the Nigerian and Benin navies to find an oil tanker that has gone missing with 22 Indian crew members off Benin's coast. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj confirmed late Sunday that the tanker, Marine Express, went missing in the Gulf of Guinea. The ship, owned by a Mumbai company, has been missing since Jan 31 with no contact with the crew so far, according to Indian media reports. In January, another oil tanker, MT Barret, went missing off the coast of the West African nation of Benin. Ship hijackings and kidnappings of crew are common in the region, with hostages often released unharmed after a ransom is paid.

Source: Bangkok Post February 05, 2018 07:41 UTC