The foreign ministry denied a report Monday that $50,000 cash was given to Somali pirates, who hijacked the Keummi 305 last October near Kenya’s Lamu Island. They freed the ship and 43 crewmembers on Feb. 14.
An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) said he knew nothing about any cash payment, stressing that the government has not provided such money to the pirates. “I think the report was not based on fact,” he said dismissing the report.
The reaction came hours after local wire service Yonhap quoted an African source familiar with the pirates as saying he heard from a Somali informant that $50,000 was handed over before the crew was released.
The Somali pirates reportedly demanded the cash to cover food served to the sailors and petroleum needed for the ship over the four months they were detained.
But the African source said the money was not a ransom payment, adding the Somali pirates knew that the ship owner was nearly bankrupt and couldn’t afford to pay the amount the pirates demanded.
Earlier, the foreign ministry said no money was paid to the pirates when the ship and 43 sailors were freed.
The Keummi 305 is back at sea after being released last week, and expected to arrive in Kenya’s Mombasa Port Tuesday afternoon (KST). When they arrive at the port, the 43 mariners will receive medical checkups and be questioned on how and where the ship was hijacked.
MOFAT said the sailors’ health conditions in general are fine, although they look weary after four months of captivity.
But the sailors’ testimonies differ. In an interview with SBS, Kim Dae-keun, the ship’s captain, said the crew suffered dermatological diseases and were treated harshly by the Somali pirates during their captivity.
The sailors were reportedly forced to eat inedible food as they were severely beaten or threatened with death if they refused it.
The 54-year-old captain also complained about the government’s “do-nothing” policy over the Korean hostages who went through inhumane treatment in the African nation.
One of the sailors said they were even brought to the Indian Ocean to help the Somali pirates when they attempted to hijack ships sailing the high seas. “We were not humans there,” the crewmember was quoted as saying.
MOFAT stood firm in its stance of not to negotiate with pirates over the release of hijacked ships and crewmembers under any circumstances.
Seoul sent two officials, one from the foreign ministry and the other from the agriculture ministry, to question the sailors when they dock in Kenya.
hkang@koreatimes.co.kr
Source: The Korea Times
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