The Syrian man may have jumped off the ship after being confined to his cabin, officials said.
Security agencies in Gujarat have been alerted after a Syrian man on board a cargo ship was reported to be missing from near the Hazira port in South Gujarat.
According to officials, the Cooks Island-registered ship coming from Egypt had offloaded rock phosphate, used in fertilisers, at Hazira port on June 18 and had left for Kandla port in Kutch for its next consignment.
About 25 nautical miles off Hazira port, officials said that following a tiff between some crew members, the Syrian man Ali named Ibrahim Aden was locked up in a cabin.
When the shop reached Kandla port on July 2, the staff informed the Kandla coastal police station that they had found Ibrahim missing from the cabin.
A team of investigators which examined the ship said that the window of the cabin had been broken indicating that Ibrahim may have jumped off the ship.
The crew of 19 comprised of seven Indians and the rest were Syrians. Marine police in Hazira and other security agencies have been alerted by the Kandla coastal police and a search operation has been launched in the coastal areas for the missing Syrian.