The Red Sea has long been a crucible of trade and tension. On July 7, it became the scene of terror and uncertainty for the family of Anilkumar Ravindran, a retired Indian Army Naib Subedar from Kerala, who had recently joined the merchant navy. Ravindran (58) was serving as an armed guard aboard a Greek cargo ship when Houthi rebels launched a missile strike. He has not been seen since.

The vessel, having just unloaded a consignment of wheat in Somalia, was on its return voyage when it came under sustained fire. The crew included two Malayalis, one Russian, and several Filipinos. One of the Indian crewmen, D Augustin (56), a native of Parassala in Thiruvananthapuram, survived the ordeal and has since returned to Kerala.

A former CISF personnel who joined the merchant navy in 2017, Augustin recounted the harrowing night. “The attack began around 7 pm and went on till 6 am next day,” he said. “The ship was badly damaged. When we tried to lower the lifeboat, they fired at that too,” he said.

Despite repeated distress signals, no immediate assistance came. On the captain’s instruction, the surviving crew leapt into the sea the following morning with life jackets strapped on. “Excluding the three who were killed and a critically injured Russian, the rest of us jumped. The last time I saw Anilkumar, he was afloat and alive but strong currents separated us,” Augustin said.

For hours, the men drifted in the water, waving desperately at passing vessels. “No one stopped,” said Augustin. On July 9, one ship responded to their distress signal and rescued six crew members. Others were saved the next day. But 11, including Anilkumar, remained unaccounted for.

Augustin was brought ashore at Jizan Port in Saudi Arabia. The Indian Embassy helped expedite his return home. 

Anilkumar had only joined the merchant navy five months ago, after completing 19 years of service in the Indian Army, mostly in Jharkhand, retiring with the rank of Naib Subedar. At his home in Pathiyoorkala, Kayamkulam, his wife, Srija, and their children — Anuj, a BSc student in Emergency Medicine in Mangaluru, and Anagha, in Class 12 — remain gripped in agony and uncertainty.

“He called me last on July 1. He said the wheat had been unloaded and they were heading back,” said Srija. “I didn’t worry when he didn’t call again. He often lacks connectivity at sea. Then the Indian Embassy phoned to say the ship had been attacked and he was missing,” she said. 

After Augustine returned, the family visited him in Thiruvananthapuram to learn more. “He told us everything about the attack. He saw my husband alive in the water. But since then, nothing,” she said. 

Srija has written to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and MPs K C Venugopal and John Brittas, pleading for government intervention. “If he’s been taken hostage, I want our government to bring him back. I just want to know what happened to him.”

For now, the days stretch on in anxious silence as there is no communication and no closure. Only the hope remains.