Local observer reported that the agreed, relatively small ransom had finally been delivered and that the pirates on Saturday afternoon had left the vessel.
An independent confirmation that the vessel is sailing free could, however, so far not yet be obtained and it is assumed that vessel and crew are not yet in safe waters.
The condition of the crew of 23 could not be established, but according to recent reports the seamen need immediate medical attention after having been held hostage for an extremely long period of over ten month, which was often bogged down by the haddling of those who were responsible for their release.
The Egyptian crew members will, however, return to a country which was different when they left on their ill-fated tour and did hear of the uprising in Egypt and the ousting of former strongman Mubarak only from time to time on the short-wave radios and during brief telephone calls.
BACKGROUND:
MV SUEZ : Seized August 02, 2010. In the early hours at 0420 UTC of AUG 02, 2010, the MV SUEZ (IMO number 8218720) reported being under small arms fire from a pirate attack by one of 3 skiffs in position 13 02N - 048 54E in the Gulf of Aden and minutes later the Indian captain reported pirates on board. The vessel had come from Karachi port (Pakistan) from where it had left on 27. July 2010.
After notification of the attack, attempts were made by the navies, who are supposed to protect the area, to make contact with the MV SUEZ, but to no avail. Egyptian-owned MV SUEZ was sailing under flag of convenience of Panama in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) when it was attacked. After the first report a helicopter was Immediately directed to the ship, but pirates had already taken over the command of the vessel, EU NAVFOR reported.
Two NATO warships, HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën and USS Cole, from the NATO counter piracy task force undertaking Operation OCEAN SHIELD, and a Singaporean warship the RSS Endurance from the CMF taskforce were within forty miles of MV Suez at the time of the attack. Despite reacting immediately and having a helicopter on the scene within 10 minutes, naval forces were unable to prevent the attack as the pirates had been able to board the ship within 5 minutes, NATO reported.
The case actually shows that though the ship was reportedly employing Best Management Practices, having barbed wire in place and fire hoses ready, the waters off Yemen and opposite Puntland are the most dangerous in the whole area. Somali sea-shifta are able to outwit and overcome any preventive measures - including arms on board, which only would drive the casualty figures higher. The incident actually highlights once again that it is high time to follow the advice to engage and help local Somali communities along the two coasts to make their coastlines safer themselves and to empower them to rule out the holding of any hostage from these innocent merchant vessels.
The Panama flagged MV SUEZ, with a deadweight of 17, 300 tonnes, has a crew of 24, according to NATO, while EU NAVFOR said 23 and the last crew-list: showed 21 with 9 Egyptians, 7 Pakistani, 3 Indians and 2 Sri Lankans. It, however, could be confirmed in the meantime that the 23 men crew consists of 11 Egyptians, 6 Indians, 4 Pakistani and 2 Sri Lankans. The Indian crew members were named as NK Sharma, Satnam Singh, Parshad Chohan, Sachin Padoran, John Rose Bisco and Ravinder Singh and the Pakistanis are Captain Wasi Hassan, Syed Alam, Ali Rehman and Mohammad Muzammil. Crew and shipowner do not have an ITF Approved CBA agreement and - due to an overdue survey - the ship's classification status had been withdrawn by Germanischer Lloyd since 28. 06. 2010. The detailed, actual crew list is awaited. RED SEA NAVIGATION CO. serves as ship manager for owner MATSO SHIPPING CO. INC. - both from Port Tawfiq in Egypt. Red Sea Navigation's commercial director Mohamed Abdel Meguid said his company already paid a US$1.5 million ransom "last year" (actually it was in 2008) for another hostage ship, the MV MANSOURAH 1 (aka Al Mansourah), which was sea-jacked on 03. September 2008 and released against the ransom after only 23 days. As DPA reported from Cairo a day after the abduction of MV SUEZ, an official with Red Sea Navigation Company, who declined to be identified publicly, said that the company would not pay a ransom and that the matter was being handled by the Foreign Ministry in Cairo.
MV SUEZ, the merchant vessel with a cargo of cement bags destined for Eritrea, was then commandeered towards the north-eastern Indian Ocean coast of Somalia and was expected at the pirate lair of Garacad in Puntland, but there pirate groups were fighting among each other and had come recently under pressure from Puntland forces. The vessel therefore dropped at first anchor near Bargaal and then was commandeered back again to the Gulf of Aden coast of Puntland, where it was held close to Bolimoog, between Alula and Habo at the very northern tip of the Horn of Africa. Thereafter the ship was moved again to the Indian Ocean coast near Dinowda Qorioweyn.
"The pirates are treating us toughly, and they took some of the crew to unknown place to exert pressure on owners of the ship," Farida Farouqe quoted her husband as telling her over the phone, as Xinhua news agency reported. The alleged demands vary between one, four and six million dollars, while officially the ship owner has been reported as saying already earlier that no ransom will be paid, while the cargo-owners seem to have been negotiating. Vessel and desperate crew were held off Dinowda Quorioweyn at the North-Eastern Indian Ocean coast of Puntland and until 12. December off Ceel Danaane.
Reports then stated that the vessel, accompanied by a sea-jacked Iranian fishing vessel, was set to go on another piracy mission, because the captors and the owners couldn't agree on a ransom, and actually did leave that coast, but was observed anchored since 1. January 2011 at Garacad in position 0653N - 04922E.
The situation on board was for many month desperate, because neither the Egyptian government nor the owner seemed to care, while the vessel and crew are still held and now moored off Ceel Dhanaane. This has now changed with a new Egyptian government in place and the owner more active.
However, the owner can not afford the hefty ransom and private funds drives are organized to gelp bringing back the whole crew.
After a long silence now also the government of India has started to become active an tries to assist with everything possible to finalize the case.
The pirate gang had been urged to release the innocent vessel and crew in solidarity with the people of Egypt, but so far has not agreed and still demands a reduced ransom. However, there is now some light at the end of the tunnel.
But according to Muzammil’s brother Kashan, the bank account set up by the families for donations had only netted about Rs350,000. When contacted on the phone by a newspaper, Captain Wasi Hassan said: “We are not in a good condition at all. They (the pirates) just beat us up." The call was disconnected while Hassan was pleading with the pirates to not beat him up for using the phone. The deadline to pay the ransom is said to be May 9.
Sampa Arya, the wife of a Merchant Navy officer, Ravinder Singh (30), hostage on MV SUEZ, sent allegedly a ‘threat message’ to a member of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s staff after all her attempts to rescue her husband fell on deaf ears.
After she sent an SMS, the Congress leader’s office lodged a complaint with the Tughlaq Road police station. The number was traced to Arya, who lives in Rohtak. She was questioned at length by police, who released her later after finding that she was “harmless” and was “desperate” to get justice for her husband.
“Since last year, I have been meeting all leaders, including the Prime Minister, but nothing has resulted from those meetings. I even went to Rahul Gandhi’s office. They were not ready to give me his phone number, but I overheard someone in his office dictating the number of his personal assistant. I noted it down and sent an SMS that I will kill myself if nothing is done,” said Arya, a teacher. The couple has a three-year-old son.
“While there was no news of my husband, police came to my house on April 15 and questioned me at length. They wanted to know how I got the number and why I sent the SMS, etc. I told them that I will go to any length to get justice for my husband,” she said. Arya added she had been in Delhi from March 22 to April 4 and met several politicians, including Minister of External Affairs S M Krishna.
Finally the ransom collection was apparently successful, though as the Pakistani newspaper Express Tribune reported with reference to a former Pakistani official, Ansar Burney who is said to be involved in the negotiations, that the Indian government and "Indian Senator, K. D. Singh backed out of his promise at the last minute putting in jeopardy the lives of all 21 hostages."
What is even more grave is that the release operation chosen was a disaster and the vessel is therefore still held. The Somali government had on 24. May 2011 impounded in Mogadishu all together US$3,6mio in connection with a busted flight, which supposedly should have delivered to MV SUEZ and another case. Most likely the handlers, who are said to be at present in hectic shuttle-mission all over the region, will have to now claim the money first from an insurance, which hopefully insured the ransom-transport now stuck in Mogadishu.
On Tuesday, 24. May 2011, unconfirmed reports emanating from the area were reported by Pakistani media with the shocking news that one of the Egyptian sailors had been set on fire causing serious injuries as the pirate’s May 22 deadline crossed. This, however, was quickly found out to be a sick hoax.
Fact is, however, that MV Suez had on Monday, 23. May 2011, been commandeered away from the coast to a ransom delivery point but meanwhile returned to the coast off Ceel Dhanaane.
The Pakistani media, referring to Ansar Burney, stated that ransom money will now be paid on 2. June 2011 and the sailors will return home by 8 June.
Kashan, brother of Muzamil, told The News that they were worried as the delay in paying the money might lead to deadly consequences.
“Now that the money has been collected, why are there so many obstacles
The wait is unbearable. My brother and the others on board the ship are being tortured by the pirates.”
The Pakistani middleman, however tried to wash his hands now off any responsibility by stating that all the $2.1 million had already been deposited into the bank account of the shipping company. Though “Indian MP’s [Indian MP KD Singh] delaying tactics had forced me to collect five hundred thousand dollars more and that we successfully did with the kind cooperation of Pakistani nation and Sindh Dr Governor Ishratul Ebad Khan and now this humanitarian fund has been transferred to the bank account of the shipping company in Egypt.”
“Now this is the headache of the shipping company as to how it would save these 22 innocent lives from the clutches of pirates as always our struggle was to save innocent lives from any torture and terrorism,” he added according to the press statement.
However, he then felt obliged a few days later to state that everything was in place and though the earlier promise that the seafarers would be home by 08. June 2011 could not be fulfilled, he made a renewed promise for the 20. June 2011. Apparently a ransom was delivered on 10. June 2011 and the pirates left the vessel on 11. June 2011.
Source: www.International.to
No comments:
Post a Comment