The Haunting Legacy Of MV Kairali

For many of the families of 51 aboard the state-owned cargo vessel, that went missing in 1979, closure is a harbor that remains elusive, a horizon that stubbornly refuses to draw near

- Rajesh Ravi @Kochi

For many of the families of the 51 souls aboard the MV Kairali, time froze on June 30, 1979. While 46 years to the day have painfully passed since the ship set sail from Goa, for them, the vessel is forever afloat, its phantom silhouette perpetually poised to dock.

The cruellest trick of the unresolved tragedy is the imagined stasis of their loved ones: Forever young, forever sailing, and never aging. Closure, a comforting harbor, remains elusive, a horizon that stubbornly refuses to draw near.

The missing cargo vessel of the state-owned Kerala Shipping Corporation was carrying 20,000 tonnes of iron ore to the East German port of Rostock from Margao, via Djibouti. The last radio contact was on July 3, and the ship was expected to refuel on July 8 at Djibouti. The world first came to know about the radio silence of the vessel on July 11, and the first official news was published on July 15.

Godwin Josey was just six when he heard the news on the radio that MV Kairali had gone missing. His father, Padapurakkal Augustine Josey, a 43-year-old engine room kasab, was among those who vanished. He recalls visiting the office of the now-defunct company the next day with his mother and relatives.

Battle for answers