Odisha merchant navy official missing at sea; family seeks CM's help

Sarthak Mohapatra, a merchant navy official from Odisha, is missing at sea from the vessel 'EA Jersey'. His family has filed a police report and appealed to the Odisha CM for urgent intervention from the Centre and state government.

Sarthak Mohapatra, a merchant navy official working as a 'Deck Cadet', has been reported missing at sea while on duty aboard the vessel 'EA Jersey'. His family has written to the Odisha CM seeking urgent intervention from the Centre and the state government. A missing persons report was filed at Bhubaneswar's Sahidnagar police station on 5th February. Mahapatra has been working with a private shipping company since July 2025.

Family Seeks Government Intervention

As claimed by his family members, Mahapatra of Keshapur area in Bhadrak district, who was working with Mumbai's ship management company, went missing while on duty aboard a vessel while returning from Mauritius to China. His mother has written a letter to the Odisha CM on this. His family is to seek urgent intervention from the Centre and the state government.

Shipping Company's Response

Speaking over the phone, Rajnandini Kochi, representative of the management, told the Mother of Sarthak, "I want to tell you that the search is going on in the office. There are many vessels still searching. We would like to inform management that the vessel is expected to arrive in Singapore on the 12th or 13th of February. We don't know when the vessel will reach Singapore. We would like to inform management that the vessel is expected to arrive in Singapore on the 12th or 13th of February. I am the representative of the management. We want to check the vessel in Singapore. We would like to provide details on the crew members. We would like to inform management that the vessel is expected to arrive in Singapore on the 12th or 13th of February. We don't know when the vessel will reach Singapore. We would like to inform management that the vessel is expected to arrive in Singapore on the 12th or 13th of February."

Mother Expresses Distrust

The mother of the merchant navy official replied to the management representative while crying over the phone," I have a bad feeling that the company is doing something wrong. I don't know what they are doing. My son is alive, I am 100% sure."

Friend Recalls Last Contact

Speaking to ANI, Sarthak's friend Saswat Mohallick said, "We were constantly in contact. He was completing an internship at Anglo Eastern Company and pursuing a DNS (Diploma in Nautical Science). We last talked on 2 Feb. He spoke normally, asking about how you are doing, how my mother's doing, and whether I should look after my mother. He talked normally. After that, we received a notification on 3 Feb that he had been missing since 6 o'clock that morning."(ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)