Iranian capture ship crew members Anthesa shares her views

New Delhi (Team Newsbuddy): Anthesa Joseph, a crew member of the cargo ship seized by Iran, has shared her experience after returning home.

She told the media, “The Iranian security forces told the crew of MSC Aries that they had no intention of harming us.”

Anthesa Joseph is the only member of the 25-member international crew of the Iranian-occupied merchant ship MSC Aries who has been released. She returned to India yesterday evening.

Anthesa spoke to the media after reaching her home in Kottayam. She said, “Everything happened suddenly. Yesterday they told me to pack my luggage and I was put on a boat and then I was put on an international flight to India.”

The cargo ship on which 21-year-old Anthesa was posted was coming to Mumbai. But on Saturday, when the ship reached Abu Dhabi, Iranian security forces landed on the ship via helicopter.

This cargo ship belongs to a company called Zodiac Maritime, whose owner is Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer. It is leased by a company called MSC Aries.

Out of the 25 crew members on the ship, 17 are Indians. There are four people from Kerala on this ship. One of them was Antessa.

Antessa also said, “It is possible that I was let go thinking I was a woman. About 20 Iranian security personnel came to the ship. I was not there at that time.”

“I came to know about it only when everyone was asked to gather on the bridge of the ship. The security personnel were talking to the captain of the ship. He had clearly said that he did not intend to harm anyone.”

Antessa was hired by MSC nine months ago. Antessa has studied from the Indian Maritime University in Kochi. She was the only female employee on the MSC Aries.