Mumbai, April 18: The seven Indian sailors of Asphalt Venture continue to be in captivity of the Somali pirates. This in spite of a ransom payment made by the ship owner, who appealed to the pirates to honour the agreement. The Asphalt Venture release drama could mark an unprecedented shift in ship owners’ future negotiations with Somali pirates.
In a major deviation from the past instances, when pirates used to release hostages once a ransom payment was made, this time the pirates have audaciously reneged on their ransom agreement and held back seven of the fifteen crew members of merchant ship Asphalt Venture, even after the agreed ransom was paid.
Ship owners of Asphalt Venture said, “This is despite meeting all demands of the negotiated settlement and paying the mutually agreed ransom. The owners appeal to the pirates to honour their word and immediately release the 6 officers and 1 crew member. All owners of other ships hijacked by pirates which are still captive in Somalia will lose faith in the negotiation process, unless those taken from the Asphalt Venture are returned immediately and allowed to sail with their fellow seafarers”
The ship is still defiantly positioned in the dangerous pirate-infested waters, a few nautical miles off the coast of Somalia, hoping that the pirates will release the remaining seven crew members.
Meanwhile, this major shift in pirates’ tactics is likely to be discussed in detail in the International conference on Somali piracy starting in Dubai on Monday. Global shipping companies believe that dishonouring a ransom agreement could seriously jeopardise future negotiations with the pirates.
Not just the hostage sailors on Asphalt Venture need to be rescued. At least 26 ships are currently under pirate control, together with 532 mariners held captive, many in appalling conditions.
The relatives of Indian Sailor Jaswinder Singh who’s been held captive on MV Iceberg for more than a year have reiterated their demand to the government to intervene to free the sailors.
The pirates had seized MV Iceberg on March 29, 2010 in the Gulf of Aden. Jaswinder Singh from Haryana is one of the six crew members held hostage by the pirates. The family of sailor, Jaswinder Singh, appealed to the Government for immediate action while lamenting the careless attitude of the Indian government.
Nirmal Kaur, Jaswinder Singh’s wife, said, “I do not want anything else from the government, just that my husband returns back. If it had been the Prime Minister’s son, he would have done everything to get him back. So doesn’t he have the same responsibility for the common man? Is it only with violence that voices are heard? Why can’t the government to do the needful with us demanding peacefully.”
The Indian Government is yet to react to the appeals of the families of the captive sailors. With International leaders set to meet on Monday, there is hope that all the captive sailors will be saved.
–Agencies