Group of diplomats has been established in Dubai
Outside the glare of media, a tri-nation monitoring group of diplomats has been established in Dubai to brainstorm ways of rescuing sailors on board ships that Somali pirates have hijacked.
“We held our first meeting on Sunday in which Consul Generals of Yemen and the Philippines participated to monitor and consider ways to bring back the sailors of our respective countries, currently being held by the Somali pirates,” said Sanjay Verma, Indian Consul-General.
Mr. Verma hoped diplomats from Bangladesh, Tanzania and Pakistan would also join this group, as nationals from these countries were also aboard some of the hijacked ships.
Somali pirates are holding 53 Indian sailors captive on board five ships: the MV Iceberg, the MV Suez, the MT Asphalt Venture, the MT Savina Caylyn and the MV Sinin.
After the success in freeing the hijacked RAK Afrikana on Wednesday, the Dubai-based diplomats are now looking at ways to replicate that success. “During its deliberations, the group arrived at the conclusion that a media outcry when negotiations are under way usually encourages the hijackers to hike the ransom,” said Mr. Verma.
Negotiations are on with the pirates for the release of sailors on board the MV Iceberg. Owned by a Dubai-based Yemeni, the MV Iceberg – hijacked in September – has on board six Indians, eight Yemenis, two Pakistanis, two Sudanese, four Ghana nationals and one Filipino. The pirates were apparently demanding a $4-million ransom, which was nearly four times the value of the ship, said an industry source. “The ship owners are finding it hard to arrange the ransom, especially because individual governments are refusing to pay,” said the source.
Analysts said piracy had become a lucrative and well-organised industry, with pirates handing around 20 per cent of their “earnings” to the opposition Al Shabaab group in Somalia. No longer using small boats with a limited reach, the pirates are deploying captured merchant vessels for their operations in the high seas, striking as far as in Seychelles.
Sources said the RAK Afrikana was released after the ransom was air-dropped, along with counting machines and equipment required to detect fake currency. After it was released, the ship malfunctioned, causing the Indian naval headquarters to seek the help of an Italian warship deployed in the Indian Ocean as part of a European Union anti-piracy mission.
The crew was subsequently put on board the MV York, which took them to Mombasa. The ship owner flew to the Kenyan port city on Sunday to fly the sailors to their homes in Thiruvananthapuram, Chandigarh, Mumbai and Delhi.
Negotiations have also begun for the release of an all-Indian 15-member crew on board the MT Asphalt Venture.
Source: The Hindu
