Safe return of crew: LPG tanker Shivalik docks safely at Mundra; Family expresses relief after anxious week amidst West Asia conflicts

Jamshedpur: The family of Ansh Tripathy breathed a sigh of relief on Monday evening after Shivalik, the India-flagged tanker carrying LPG which passed through the Strait of Hormuz last week, docked at the Mundra port in Gujarat on Monday evening.

Mithlesh Kumar Tripathy and Chanda, the parents of the 34-year-old second engineer on-board the vessel, spent sleepless nights and kept a constant watch on the West Asia conflict as their son manoeuvred the vessel, carrying 46,000 metric tonnes of LPG through the Strait of Hormuz, under a sky lit up by missiles and explosions.




The vessel, crewed by Ansh and 26 others, navigated through the conflict zone on Mar 13 before arriving at Mundra on Monday evening.

“With communication lines cut and reports of potential strikes continuously making headlines on news channels, it was a nightmare for everyone in the family,” Mithlesh said. On Mar 12, Shivalik, belonging to the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), reported its location in the exclusive economic zone waters 24 miles off the United Arab Emirates. “My only fear was that my child would become a casualty of the war,” he said.

Ansh, a resident of Ashiana Woodlands in Paridih in Mango, joined duty on Nov 25 last year and embarked on what was to be a routine assignment to the West Asia. As his vessel was about to sail through the Strait of Hormuz, things quickly turned volatile as tensions gripped West Asia.

“I could not sleep for a week due to anxiety. Now that the vessel safely navigated to our shores, I am relieved. It is like a stone being lifted off my chest,” said Mithlesh, a retired official of Uranium Corporation of India Limited.

Chanda thanked the Union govt and its diplomacy for her son’s safe return. “Amid the airstrikes, a missile passed very close to his ship at night, and Ansh sent me a photo of it. My soul trembled at that moment,” she said. Ansh’s wife, Chanda Mishra Tripathy, who works at Tata Steel as a Chartered Accountant, said Ansh’s safety was the only thought that occupied her mind throughout the week. “The safe return of the crew has come as a big relief to the entire nation,” she said.

As news of the safe return of the vessel spread, friends and relatives of the Tripathy family came to their house to congratulate them. However, the family could not get through to Ansh till late evening.

Ansh joined the SCI in 2014 after completing his mechanical engineering at BIT Durg in 2012 and Marine Engineering at Cochin Shipyard Limited in 2015. Ansh did his upper primary at Motilal Nehru Public School in Sakchi (2004), and higher secondary at Atomic Energy Central School, Narwa in Jaduguda (2008).