Kollam (Kerala): A young Malayali man, Akshay Harish, hailing from Prakkulam in Kerala’s Kollam district, is stranded in Iran after facing severe hardship while engaged in employment related to the maritime and shipping sector. He is employed as a watchkeeper on the vessel Palm Marine, owned by Ali Shipping Company.

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Akshay lost his passport and key personal belongings in Iran, leaving him trapped in a precarious situation and unable to return home safely. The sudden loss of documents has left him facing major challenges, causing distress to his family back in Prakkulam.
According to Akshay, he has been in Iran for the past 11 months. He states that his recruiting agent had initially assured him of employment in Dubai. However, the ship’s voyages were consistently routed to Iran. Ship movements, which had been halted due to conflict, resumed only a few months ago. The vessel had set sail to transport rice from Pakistan. Akshay reports that after returning from his second voyage, his passport was not returned to him. When he raised the matter with the ship's captain, he was informed that the company had enquired whether the passport was left behind in Pakistan, but received a negative response.

Following reports of his plight by media outlets, local community leaders and political representatives stepped in to assist the family. Minister for Labour Bindu Krishna reached out to Akshay via a video call to assess his well-being and reassure him that official steps are being taken to ensure his safe return.

Coordination efforts have been initiated with authorities and NoRKA-Roots (the Non-Resident Keralites Affairs department) to expedite consular assistance, issue temporary travel documentation and facilitate his repatriation to Kerala.

Further updates from official channels regarding Akshay's repatriation process are awaited as coordination continues.