Agony of Somali sea piracy

A victim recalls horrific experience:

Another ship seized:

By Manjula FERNANDO

 

Captain Werawansa despite his rare bravery has not received any compensation let alone the salary for seven months by his Dubai boss.

Pic: Chinthaka Kumarasinghe

Capt. Sarath Weerawansa, 63, fought with the Somali lawless administration for seven months to save his crew and his ship "Lo Lo Leila" which was under illegal detention in Berbera from 15 September 2009 till 22 March 2010. His protracted fight which brought upon him life threats and near death experiences has made him a fearless and an outspoken about a subject which no other mariner would ever want to speak of; How the seafarers being ill treated by their employers, sea piracy and double standards of the international community in fighting Somali pirates.

Q: Somali pirates have taken a Panama flagged cargo ship hostage on Monday. Not so long ago you underwent the same experience at the hands of Somali administration. What was your reaction to the latest news?

A: When I read about it I felt very sorry for the crew. I am not at all shocked by the news. Of late, pirates in this stretch of sea have become very active.

There are NATO ships patrolling this troubled area, American fleet are there but still the Somalis managed to succeed. The million dollar question is how they do it? Are they more intelligent or endowed with sophisticated equipment than these joint forces. They are not!

Of course, these pirates are fully backed by Al Qaeda and other regional terror groups. But, that is not the only reason. I think the "stake holders" have resolved to keep mum on the whole issue for reasons best known to them. Somali pirates can be stopped, if you really have the wit and the will.

Somalia became a lawless land of sea piracy over a decade ago. The international community and the UN have not done anything to correct this historical flaw.

Q: If I am correct this was the third such hijack of a merchant freighter with Sri Lankan crew on board, within the last 18 months? Do these pirates regard some ships as soft targets?

A: Yes. They don't attack all the vessels. Dubai based ships, in particular, are considered soft targets. The European principals are difficult to negotiate and to make transactions with.

The pirates come in wooden Dhow boats with 15m - 25 m perimeter, same as those used by Pakistanis and Indians for trade in close waters.

Despite outer appearance these boats have a lot of capacity to carry fuel and weapons. There are rubber dinghies and fibreglass boats attached to them. They linger in the high seas, posing as fishermen or merchants, during the day time.

When a vessel sets sail from a harbour towards the pirate territory, their henchmen tip off their counterparts in the Gulf of Aden.

When ships plying from Europe to Asia pass the Suez and enter the red sea, the pirates, get the message. They wait in ambush. The ships from the Gulf region will be monitored at the point from Strait of Hormus.

Then, armed with AK-47s and RPGs, they attack and seize merchant vessels in mid sea and tug them to secret locations in the vast Somali coast.

Q: What will happen if the principals refuse to pay the ransom? Has there been incidents of killing crew members over such refusals?

A: I have had first hand experience. They are so ruthless they do not hesitate to kill. When I was under their so called `arrest' late last year, sea pirates killed the captain of another ship a Syrian national. He was brought to the bridge of the ship and his throat was slashed. From what I heard later was that he had a bitter argument with them.

This was not the first and the last.

A friend of mine, a Sri Lankan had a similar experience. He was an engineer with a Somali-flagged ship. When these pirates had hijacked a sister vessel, its owner had organised a rescue mission. My friend was to help his Captain to sail their ship, confront the pirates and force them to release the hijacked ship. Knowing the ruthlessness of these pirates he had refused, resigned and returned home.

When the particular ship ultimately sailed on its rescue mission, the pirates had brought the captain of the seized ship on to the bridge and threatened to kill him if they dared to come near. When the rescue mission failed to take orders the Pakistani Captain of the hostage ship was shot in the head point blank. This had happened few days after our release.

If the ransom attempt fails, the Somalis sometimes release the crew and retain the ship. They change its colour, flag and the name. They are masters in disguise. Those ships are used for `trade' between Yemen and Dubai.

Q: How do they treat their hostages?

A: I was not a victim of hostage-taking by pirates. I was kept under detention by the so called Somali port authorities. There is no law governing this country and therefore, hardly there as any distinction between pirates and the officials.

During my lifelong career I have listened to many pirate tales from the victims. Once a ship is seized by pirates it will be delivered to another party. The pirates who seize the ship will depart after collecting their dues. The negotiations for the ransom and the detention of hostages are handled by a different group.

The crew will be held in `the mess' which is a large open hall. They will have to eat and sleep there. Even a visit to the wash room will be allowed only with an armed escort. The cook will be released to attend to the kitchen but he too will be monitored closely.

It is mental torture as you have to constantly live in fear and uncertainty.

Q: Don't you think the payment of ransom will set the scene for an additional pirate ship in sea?

A: Certainly, but once they have captured a ship there is no way out unless through negotiations. They are ruthless killers.

The Indian and Chinese national freighters are very tough with the pirates because they are equipped to retaliate. You cannot go soft on these maritime criminals. Last year some of the pirates were killed in such a confrontation.

Q: It seems that these pirates are well organised and well informed. Where can you begin the counter action?

A: The criminals from Yemen and Aden shelter these pirates. Their weapons suppliers are mainly Yemenis and fuel is got from some friendly countries in the Gulf region.

During the 70s and 80s, the Phillip Channel and the straits of Malacca were extensively used by the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas of Philippines and Indonesian pirates who were supported by some of Indonesian gangs and Malaysian insurgents.

We used to carry on board additional crew to be on the look out for these pirates. Many precautionary measures were taken by the ships plying on this route in the past. Due to Malaysian and Singaporean Government's stern and concerted efforts to apprehend and deal with them severely, the sea piracy has come to almost a halt. The Nigerian pirates which were operating in the 70s to 90s, were also dealt with in the same way.

You must fight fire with fire.

Sea piracy has become a very lucrative job and an easy money spinner for Somali youngsters. Their taking up to this unscrupulous trade is very much on the incline. You find pirates as young as 16 upto 40 years of age.

Q: How was your personal experience with the Somalis?

A: I was detained by the Somali administration. My sister ship, "Mariam Star", that called at Berbera, Somalia with some cargo, caught fire inside the harbour. I was asked to go there and assist her. When I reached the port the crew of my sister ship had been arrested by the Somali Government. The same fate befell me. The Somali state authorities who work hand in glove with the pirates demanded US $ 2.5 million from my owner in Dubai as compensation for the lost cargo in "Mariam Star". Till then we were to be detained. The ship's owner refused to pay and left it at that. I had to look after the crew of "Mariam Star" as well as mine.

Words cannot explain the suffering we underwent at their hands. The struggle for food and water was pathetic. When days turned into months our hopes of rescue waned and we became delirious with fear. I fell acutely ill and there were times when I thought my end was very near.

My colleagues on the other ship were brutally assaulted and I too was threatened with life for my efforts to secure our release. With the help of some outsiders I established contact with the international media.

This move outraged the Somali authorities.

I was thoroughly neglected by the ship's owner Dubai based business tycoon. My salary was not paid. My family was in distracts. After the first month supply of food, fresh water and fuel to run the ship's generator that supplied electricity for cooking, were stopped.

Finally, due to untiring efforts by a gentleman from the IOM and the Sri Lankan mission in Nairobi we were freed in March 2010, seven months after our illegal detention. With the timely intervention of the then Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama our airfare too were taken care of by the Government.

Despite my efforts to keep the crew and the ship safe till the day we were rescued, my employer never paid me compensation or the salaries due for the seven month period in detention. The two Pakistani crew members of my ship got their dues on arrival in Karachi.

I am 63 now. My salary was my family's only means of sustenance.

The Consular section of the Foreign Ministry and an official of the Presidential Secretariat have been assisting me a lot but unfortunately the efforts of the Dubai mission which should pursue the case at their end to put pressure on my employer, had been highly unsatisfactory.

I hope the President and the Foreign Minister will intervene and resolve the issue soon.