Tag: pirates release vessel

Seven Indian sailors onboard MV Savina released after $7.5 million ransom

They were among a crew of 22 taken hostage by pirates near Yemen "The hope of being back home to our loved helped us survive the 11 months of inhuman conditions and ill treatment," said an emotional Devji Kashyap Jethva, one of the 13 sailors who landed here on Tuesday morning.A crew of 22 people - 17 Indians and 5 Italians - was taken into captivity along with their oil tanker ship, Savina Caylyn, in February last year near Yemen by pirates using guns and rocket propelled grenades. Thirteen crew members landed in Mumbai on Tuesday morning, while the remaining four left for their homes elsewhere.The joyous families could not withhold the excitement as they rushed past the airport security barricades to embrace the sailors. Rahul Puranic's daughter was a little over two when he left home promising to return in a few weeks, but sitting on his lap she said she had no complaints. "This is all too surreal, I have imagined this every single day and now I can barely believe that I have reached home and I am holding my daughter," an emotional Mr. Puranic said."We had a lot of support from the National Union of Seafarers ...

Crew members of the ship, MV Spar Rigel A Norwegian ship, with 20 Indian crew members, was hijacked by Somali pirates Tuesday morning off the coast of Nigeria but freed from their control soon after by security forces, a maritime authority said here.The crew members of the ship, MV Spar Rigel, locked themselves in the citadel - a safe house - on board and sent an SOS to the security forces patrolling the area, according to the directorate-general of shipping (DGS).The ship was now free of the pirates and the crew, which also included a Ukrainian, were safe, the DGS said.On Feb 8 last year, a ship, MT Savina Caylyn, with 17 Indian crewmen was hijacked. The ship has now been released and the crew members returned home via Fujairah after an 11-month ordeal.Besides these incidents, another 36 Indians are on board four hijacked ships. MV Iceberg-1 of Panama hijacked Mar 3, 2010 has six Indians abroad, MT Fairchem Bogey of Marshall Islands hijacked Aug 20, 2011 has 21 Indians among its crew, MV Al Bedo of Malaysia hijacked Nov 26, 2010 has two Indians and MT Enrico Ievoli of Italy hijacked Dec 27, 2011 has seven crew members from ...

The pirates had been demanding $9 million Fifteen Georgian sailors held hostage by pirates for more than a year off the coast of lawless Somalia have been freed, officials from the ex-Soviet state said on Sunday.But there was no word on the fate of three Turkish sailors captured with them."The liberation of the Georgian sailors hijacked by Somali pirates has ended successfully," Georgia's Maritime Transport Agency said in a statement."The sailors are under armed guard on a ship controlled by the Georgian government," it said.Armed raiders boarded the Malta-flagged cargo ship in the piracy-plagued area off the Gulf of Aden in September 2010 and seized the crew of 15 Georgians and three Turks.The Georgian statement said that government efforts had achieved the seamen's release but did not specify whether the Turkish sailors had been freed or not.The pirates had been demanding $9 million (7.1 million euros) to release the ship but the Georgian statement did not say whether any ransom had been paid, or how the sailors had been freed.The pirates released photographs to the Somalia Report website in October showing the emaciated Georgian sailors surrounded by masked men holding Kalashnikov rifles, but the statement said that the seamen's health ...

22 crew released by Somali pirates The 22 crew including a Keralite engineer on board Italian oil tanker Savina Caylyn, released by Somalian pirates is expected to reach Dubai on January 7 next, relatives of a crew member said here on Wednesday.The tanker, carrying crude oil was on its way to Singapore from Malaysia when it was hijacked by the pirates on February eight 2011 at Sokkotra island, for a ransom amount.The Savina Caylyn, an oil tanker with five Italians and 17 Indians on board, was freed on December 21 after more than 10 months in captivity.The tanker, guarded by Italian Navy has already embarked on its journey to Dubai on December 26.Third engineer Hari C Nair contacted his mother at Chungam here yesterday and also spoke to his relatives."The pirates took away the laptops and money with us. The tanker may reach Dubai on January 7. After medical check-ups we will reach home the same day night or next day", he said. Source: The Times of India

First Indian Hostages Released in Months Somali pirates have just released the Italian-flagged oil tanker MV Savina Caylyn for a ransom of $11.5 million, according to pirate sources. The 22 crew members, composed of 17 Indians and five Italians, had spent 11 months in captivity.The ransom was delivered in two instalments, with the first payment of $8.5 million dropped on board the vessel by helicopter early Wednesday, and a second package of $3 million arriving at 12:30pm (0930 GMT).At 2:00pm (1100 GMT), the pirates finally released the vessel.Once Bitten, Twice ShyThe atypical two-part ransom drop was a response to the pirates' previous refusals to release Indian hostages, even after being paid a ransom. The trend began on April 15th, when pirates holding the MT Asphalt Venture declined to release the eight Indian members of the crew, hoping to use them as pawns in a prisoner exchange for pirates captured by the Indian navy. Since then, pirates have repeatedly refused to release Indian nationals, and have even gone so far as to declare their intention to "hunt" Indian seafarers.The two-part drop was designed to avert another bad faith maneuverer on the part of the pirates."It was a tactic by the ship's ...

Four South Korean Crew Still Held Pirates have released the Singapore-flagged MT Gemini and 21 crew members, although they have kept a hold of four South Korean seamen who were on the ship, pirates and maritime officials said Thursday.The MT Gemini was taken on April 30, and pirates had initially demanded $5 million for its release. There was no information on the size of the ransom."The Singaporean vessel has been released on Wednesday late after payment, but they kept the South Korean crew ... because they want six of their colleagues jailed in South Korea to be released," Mu'min Ali, a Haradhere-based pirate, told Somalia Report. "The ransom amount is not clear, as pirate groups don't like to reveal how much they got these days."The vessel was left anchored at Hobyo, he said.Nairobi-based diplomats said the vessel would shortly get underway, and that the four Koreans were taken to an unknown destination on shore.The Singapore-based owner Glory Ship Management confirmed the release in a statement."The pirates ... released 21 of the 25 crew on board but took four South Korean seamen, including the captain, ashore at the last moment despite earlier promises to release the entire all-man crew," Reuters news ...