Govt trying to recover sailors in pirates custody

Pakistan said it was working with the Egyptian and Somali authorities to seek the safe release of its citizens.


Express August 28, 2010

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday said it was in contact with the Egyptian government as well as Somali authorities to seek the safe and early release of its citizens on vessel hijacked by the Somali pirates.

The MV Suez cargo ship, owned by an Egyptian company Red Sea Navigation Co, was transporting cement when it was seized by pirates in the Red Sea on August 2.

There were 23 sailors aboard the vessel, including 11 Egyptians. The rest were nationals of India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The pirates took the vessel to the northern coast of Somalia.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is exploring avenues for seeking UN assistance for the release of our nationals,” Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit said in a statement.

Somali pirates demanded a $4 million ransom for the ship’s release.

According to the ship’s operator, the vessel’s market value does not exceed $3 million.

Intermediaries, however, said that the negotiations started with the ransom sum of $20 million.

Red Sea Navigation Co also paid ransom for the release of another of its vessels hijacked in 2008. It managed to bring down the ransom sum from $10 million to $600,000.

Somali pirates have been active off Somalia as the country has had no functioning central government for two decades.

Last week, UN set up an international tribunal, to explore ways of prosecuting pirates operating off the Somali coast. One of the options discussed was authorising the use of force.

Piracy attacks have escalated worldwide in recent years.

In 2008, 111 vessels were attacked, and that number nearly doubled to 217 in 2009.

“Bearing in mind that each incident involves a number of individuals, it is clear that there are large numbers of persons involved,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon said.

Other options listed in the UN report include creating a Somali court in the territory of another state in the region and setting up an international tribunal agreed upon by regional country and the UN.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28th, 2010.

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