The family of 37-year-old J. Vivek, a missing seafarer belonging to Koonimedu in Villupuram district, and the Forward Seamen’s Union of India (FSUI) have urged the Centre to take steps to trace him. His family could not get in touch with him from March 26 this year when he was aboard the merchant vessel M.V. PERSISTENSE. 

His wife V. Sneha said that he had left home saying it was a five-month long contract and joined the boat on December 23, 2025. “We had the habit of calling each other twice a day. But suddenly on March 26 when I called, the line did not go. Then I tried on consecutive days. After that I called the shipping company to find out his status. They promised to let him know that I had tried to reach him. He did not call back. Then they kept giving reasons that the ship was sailing. I am now worried that something has happened to him,” she said.  

FSUI vice-president T. Narendra Rao said that the shipping company did not furnish any documentary evidence of the seaman’s journey from Oman to Mumbai in May after he was said to have officially signed off on May 27. “His father, a senior citizen, has been running from pillar to post trying to get the whereabouts of his only son. Our plea is that the Central government, the DG Shipping, and the Ministry of External Affairs must take steps to bring Vivek back home,” he said. 

Published - July 16, 2026 12:44 am IST