Kerala sailor, only son killed in Russian ship attack, was about to marry soon

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New-Delhi: The 26-year-old Akhil Joyan, a seafarer from Kerala, was one of four Indians who were killed in a Russian attack on a cargo ship, MV Golden Leo, off the coast of the Ukrainian city of Odesa.

He was a resident of Vellarikkundu in Kasaragod district was all set to get married in the next two months.

Akhil, the only son of Joyan and Sally, had returned home on leave last month, got engaged and rejoined duty only a month ago.

Joyan has been working as a mariner on the ship for the last six years after completing a course in nautical science in Chennai and was looking to change his job soon. Apart from his maritime career, he was also a noted tug-of-war athlete and held a world record in finger pulling.

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According to people close to his family, the young sailor was the only son of Joyan, who works at an electrical shop, and Sally, an insurance agent.

Joyan’s family got to know about his death through an email received from the shipping company he worked with on Monday evening.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has condemned the attacks, stating that “targeting commercial shipping and endangering innocent civilian crew members, or otherwise impeding freedom of navigation and commerce, is deplorable and should be avoided”.

The MEA said the vessel had 17 crew members on board when it came under attack off the coast of Odesa.

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