According to Iranian officials and the nonprofit Hostage Support Network, Somali pirates released an Iranian fisher after more than four years in captivity. The seafarer went to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he will receive much needed medical care before departing to Iran.
Mohammad Sharif Panahandeh, a resident of Baluchista and who is now having health issues, was arrested in 2015 from a fishing ship. According to John Steed, an HSN negotiator, he was released as the Somali pirates were unsure about whether he would survive. The Iranian fisher experienced severe malnutrition and internal bleeding. In fact, Sharif needed a week of medical treatment prior to the journey.
Steed quoted to the BBC that
Through a process of negotiation, we convinced the pirates to release him. In this case, there was no money exchanged, it was just a humanitarian action.
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The Hostage Support Network thanked the local community, the elders, the local authorities, such as Galmudug State Maritime Police, and the unrecognized Somali members of the team for their help and good will.
The HSN also declared that there are still three of Sharif’s shipmates in captivity, “the only three hostages that the pirates are currently holding” in a statement through its twitter account.
In 2011, when the Somali piracy epidemic was at its peak, kidnapping and hijacking off the Horn of Africa was a threatening remark. It was after a conjunction of overseas naval patrol and maritime security workforce that have brought the number of such instances near to zero. Whatsoever, Sleed suggests that “they’ve moved on to other things, drug smuggling, other criminal activity“.
Concerning Somali piracy, you may also see:
- Mapping maritime piracy and armed robbery in parts of the world.
- BMP 5 guidance necessary in every HRA transit, white paper says
