Somali pirates urged to release Lankan crew

Mohammed Rasooldeen in Riyadh

The Somali pirates who hijacked the Saudi ship Al-Nisr Al-Saudi on Monday have said they will not harm the vessel’s crew, a Sri Lankan diplomat told Sunday Observer on yesterday.Al-Nisr al-Saudi was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden on Monday with a 14-member crew aboard, which include 13 Sri Lankans and the ships’ Greek captain, Georgios Skalimis.

The tanker, owned by International Bunkering Co. (IBCO) was on its way from Japan to Jeddah when it was hijacked. The hijackers have demanded a $ 20 million ransom.

The ship is presently anchored on the coast of Somalia. “We have held discussions with senior IBCO officials about the hijacked Saudi Arabian vessel and urged them to expedite the release of the 13 Sri Lankan crew members,” said Sabarullah Khan.

The crew members held in the ship included, Georgios Skalimis, (Greek) and other Sri Lankans - Jacob Xavier, Venis Robinson Parceloan, Hewa Pathage Ranga Jayasinghe, Wijemuni Elmo Ansalam Zoyza, Selvarasa Rajavel, Balakrishnan Jayarajan, Robert Joseph, Kanagasabapathy Thusyanantha, Arumai Sekeram Basil Rajah, Lakshmikanthan Gajenthiran, Arockiasamy Pillai Britto Lawrence, Saverimuttu Atputharajah and Rajagopal Jeyakumar.

IBCO is working with its insurer, the Saudi IACI Cooperative Insurance Company, to facilitate negotiations with the pirates. Khan added that the shipping company had established contact with the pirates through satellite communication and that they had given reassurances that they would not harm the Sri Lankan crew. London-based Protection and Indemnity Club (P&I) is coordinating action between the pirates and the insurance company, Khan said.

Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Kenya Jayantha Dissanayake said the vessel was now in the region of Gurey off the coast of Somalia. As a result of the incident, he has urged Sri Lankan nationals to refrain from seeking employment on ships that sail across Somali waters. The island’s Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said he will continue to monitor the situation and take all necessary measures to expedite the release of the Sri Lankans through Sri Lankan Missions in Saudi Arabia.