Ukrainian sailor from Odesa Oleksiy Svistilnikov went missing from MV Ocean Lion (IMO 929624, Liberia flag) which was cruising in the Indian Ocean heading to Singapore, as a charity organization “Assistant Fund for sailors “Assol” (Odesa) reported. The wife of the missing sailor appealed there earlier.
A 38-year-old Svistilnikov arrived on the ship on August 9, 2018 under a labor contract with a Greek company Primerose Shipping CO LTD, employed as the third mechanic.
As his wife was told, on December 19, the sailor went missing in the Indian Ocean. Last time his colleagues saw him in the evening before; the crew noted that Svistilnikov went missing in the morning, when the sailor did not report for duty. Nobody heard or saw anything suspicious at night.
For today, there is no official information or documents about the ship owner or the crew, concerning the confirmation of the incident’s location, the results of search and rescue operation and investigation report.
Olexiy worked in Primerose Shipping CO LTD for six years, his colleagues considered him a professional, the expert in his field, and a peace-loving and responsible man. Ukraine’s Consul to Singapore, who arrived on board right after the ship called at the port, passed the crew’s testimony to his wife.
This is not the first time the crew members go missing on Ocean Lion. As it appeared, on January 17, 2014 when the vessel was on a raid near New Orleans (U.S.), the chief mate from Odesa went missing.
The search and rescue operation was unsuccessful. Despite the fact that blood traces were found on the clothes of some crew members, the investigation did not bring any results.