Indian sailor missing from ship off Dubai coast

A young Indian sailor aboard a ship, which was anchored off a coast in Dubai, has been reported missing since March 9, according to a media report on Tuesday.

The sailor, identified as 23-year-old Jagadeeswara Rao, had come to the UAE as a seaman in September last year on a visa sponsored by Emirates Shipping Company LLC, the Gulf News reported.

Rao disappeared from a vessel that was anchored 3.5 miles off Port Rashid in Dubai.

On March 9, Rao's friend "Dileep Kumar called up his home in Andhra Pradesh and informed that Jagadeeswara is missing from the ship, where they worked together," D Ramu, a health and safety manager at a Dubai company where the sailor's father Srinivasa works as a welder, was quoted as saying by the report.

Rao was on duty on the day he disappeared, he said, adding that when his reliever went to take over the shift, he didn't find him on the ship's deck, following which he immediately informed the ship authorities and the coastguards.

A complaint has been registered with the Ports Police, Ramu said.

The Indian Consulate in Dubai has also taken up the matter with the local authorities and is pursuing it.

"We had taken it up with the foreign office, the police and the Federal Transport Authority. We have been pursuing the matter. However, they have not been able to find him," the Consulate said.