24-hour helpline set up as part of search operations for missing merchant ship carrying 22 Indians

xternal Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today said that the ministry along with Nigerian and Benin naval authorities has set up a 24-hour helpline as part of search operations for Marine Express, a merchant vessel oil tanker carrying 22 Indian nationals, that went missing on Friday. The Indian mission in Abuja is in touch with authorities in Nigeria and Benin about a ship that is believed to have gone missing in the Gulf of Guinea, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet. The merchant vessel is owned by a Mumbai-based Anglo Eastern shipping company MT Marine Express. It is suspected that the vessel carrying gas oil has been hijacked by pirates. The Coast guard in Nigeria, too, is on the lookout for the ship. The India mission in Nigeria was in touch with the authorities concerned and the situation was being constantly monitored, the MEA said. "Our Mission in Abuja (Nigeria) is in touch with the authorities in Benin and Nigeria for their help in locating the ship and is constantly monitoring the situation. A 24-hour helpline number set up by the Embassy for information on those missing is +234-9070343860," Kumar tweeted yesterday. (With inputs from Mustafa Shaikh)