MV Kairali Mystery and Investigation

The MV Kairali's mysterious past is a topic of great interest. It was a merchant ship that disappeared in 1978.

The ship was carrying a crew of 35 people, including the captain, when it vanished.

The MV Kairali was a 2,000-ton cargo ship that was traveling from the port of Malé in the Maldives to the port of Tuticorin in India when it went missing.

The MV Kairali has a fascinating history. It was initially built by Marinens Hovedverft in Norway.

The ship's name was changed when the Kerala Shipping Corporation (KSC) purchased it for a sum of 5.81 crores (58,810,000 Indian rupees or USD 7,300,000 at the time).

The exact reason for MV Kairali's disappearance remains a mystery, but several probable causes have been attributed by those in the shipping industry and relatives of the crew members.

The ship was sailing with a cargo of iron ore in July, a peak monsoon month, which may have led to the cargo liquefying due to high moisture content and exceeding the Transportable Moisture Limit.

The vessel allegedly carried 20,500 tonnes of iron ore, exceeding its capacity of 19,000 tonnes, and failed to follow safety norms.

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MV Kairali's last voyage was marked by a series of events that have left many questions unanswered. The ship sailed from Margao on June 30, 1979, despite having a faulty radar that was under repair.

Captain Mariyadas Joseph had initially refused to sail the ship on June 30, but was reportedly forced to do so by KSC. He had told his wife in a letter that the ship would sail only on July 4 after repairing the radar.

The ship's radar was not the only issue, as it was also carrying iron ore beyond its capacity, which led to moisture issues. Many believed that this could have resulted in the ship capsizing.

The last message received from the ship was on July 3, 1979, at 8:00 pm. The ship was scheduled to report at Djibouti for fuelling on July 8, but it never did.

The search effort for Kairali was delayed, starting only on 16 July 1979.

The Indian Navy was alerted and undertook reconnaissance flights in the area, but eventually gave up search operations.

After several flights in the area from where Kairali had sent the last message, the Indian Navy declared the ship missing about 500 miles off Margao.

The ship's disappearance was publicly announced only after a Kerala Shipping Corporation agent in Djibouti contacted the company's headquarters in Kochi on 11 July.

The vessel was supposed to have docked in Djibouti on 8 July, but failed to do so, prompting the agent to contact the company's headquarters.

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The exact reason the ship went missing is still unknown, but several probable causes have been attributed by those familiar with the shipping industry.

One possible cause is that the vessel may have loaded cargo with high moisture content, possibly exceeding the Transportable Moisture Limit, which could have led to the cargo liquefying and causing the ship to capsize.

The ship, which had a capacity of 19,000 tonnes, allegedly carried 20,500 tonnes of iron ore, disregarding safety norms. This would have caused the cargo to shift in rough waves and potentially led to the ship sinking.

The mandatory process of balancing the cargo after it was loaded was not followed, which could have contributed to the ship's demise.

There is also an allegation that the radar of the ship was under repair, and Captain Mariyadas Joseph refused to set sail on the morning of 3 July, but was forced to commence the journey on the evening of the same day without repairing the radar.

The ship may have been subject to a hijacking by pirates, with the crew members taken to uninhabited islands and the ship taken to another location.

The aftermath of the Kairali's disappearance was marked by a lack of transparency from the Kerala Shipping Corporation.

Relatives of missing crew members filed cases in courts to try and locate the ship.

The corporation was unable to provide crucial documents such as the addresses of the crew members, FIR, and inquiry report as per right to information requests.

This led to the Kerala State Information Commission taking action, asking the state government to submit a report within 30 days on the loss of the Kairali.

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The search for MV Kairali was delayed, and it wasn't until 16 July 1979 that the Indian Navy finally initiated a search effort.

The ship's disappearance was not publicly announced until 15 July 1979, three days after the news was shared with the Kerala Shipping Corporation.

Even after the agents in Djibouti informed KSC that the ship had failed to arrive on 8 July, it took four more days for the company to acknowledge that its ship was missing.

The last message received from the ship was on 3 July 1979 at 8:00 pm, but there was no communication from MV Kairali for 13 days before the search started.

MV Kairali was supposed to have docked in Djibouti on 8 July, but it never arrived, and the news of its disappearance was not announced until 15 July.

The search effort was led by the Indian Navy, but it was eventually called off without finding any signs of the missing ship.

The mystery surrounding MV Kairali is a complex one. The ship vanished into the abyss with one week to the completion of 44 years since its disappearance.

Experts have pointed out that the weather was calm at the time of the ship's disappearance, which makes it even more puzzling.

No wreck or cargo was found on the seabed, which suggests that the ship did not sink in the classical sense.

The iron ore on board was kept in a special way following safety measures, which rules out the possibility of it causing the ship to capsize.

The ship was a large one, making it less likely to sink without leaving behind any evidence.

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Allegations of hijacking by Somalian pirates have been made, but there's no concrete evidence to support this claim.

The inquiry commission report put the number of missing persons at 51, but the exact reason behind the ship's disappearance remains a mystery.

The ship's disappearance has left behind a trail of unanswered questions, and it's a reminder that sometimes, the truth can be elusive.