Berhampur: Family members of Ashok Kumar Dixit, chief officer of an LPG-loaded ship stranded at the Ras Laffan anchorage in Qatar, are living in anxiety. With the near collapse of traffic through Strait of Hormuz, Ashok and the crew have been waiting in their loaded vessel since Feb 28, when conflict began.Ashok was scheduled to return home in Cuttack on March 10, after completing his contract with a private shipping company. “He and other crew members are stuck in the conflict zone,” said Bishnu Charan Sahu, his father-in-law, who stays in Berhampur.“We were hoping for his return after two loaded Indian ships — Shivalik and Nanda Devi — carrying cooking gas reached Gujarat recently through the Persian Gulf,” said Srutirekha Sahoo, Ashok’s wife.But around a week has passed, and there is no clarity on the passage of other ships, including that of her husband.“With reports of missiles and drone attacks, we are spending sleepless nights, even though we talk to him every day through video call and praying for his safety,” said Srutirekha, a primary school teacher.“We have appealed to the govt to take immediate steps for safe passage of his vessel, where 28 other crew members are also stranded, and to bring them back to India,” said Srutirekha, mother of a six-year-old girl.According to her, Ashok and others are worried about depleting food and drinking water in the vessel. “We hope the govt will take immediate steps regarding the passage of the vessels,“ she said.
