Pirates told hostages to say final goodbyes
Families of kidnapped sailors tell of their distress at phone call from their loved ones who expected to die imminently
DUBAI // A woman whose sailor husband was taken hostage by Somali pirates said he and the rest of his crew were forced to call home to speak to their families “for the last time”. The hostages, who were on board a UAE-managed tanker, were given less than a minute to say “final goodbyes” to relatives in Sri Lanka last week during an exchange of fire with Puntland counter piracy forces off Somalia’s north-eastern coast. The eight Sri Lankan crew members of tanker Aris 13 were rescued by the Puntland Maritime Police Force on Thursday and are recovering in Bosaso port in Puntland after their fourday ordeal.
“I could hear the gunfire and my husband was crying loudly – I have never heard him like that,” said Samudra Hettarachchi, in Colombo.
“He said it was his last call and asked me to take care of our daughter.
“I did not know what to think because in another minute I would not know if he was alive or not. I said, ‘Do not worry, you are coming back to Sri Lanka’.
“Then the telephone was disconnected and I tried to call anyone to free them.” The call from her husband Sunil Bulathsinhala came on day two of the hijacking, after news of the March 13 attack was broadcast across the world.
Relatives of other hostages received phone calls telling them to contact government authorities to ask them to stop the exchange of fire.
Chirag Bahri, regional director, South Asia, for the International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network, said relatives reached out to them for help.
“They were very anxious and nervous when Puntland forces attacked,” he said. “We tried to calm them and explain that the aim was not to harm but to rescue the hostages. But it was frightening when they heard the firing and then didn’t know if the men were alive. It was a tense time for seafarers and their families.”
The hijacking of the South African- owned oil tanker en route from Djibouti to Mogadishu ended a five-year lull in piracy attacks off Somalia’s coast.
There had been no successful hijackings since the crude oil tanker Smyrni in May 2012. A 75- strong team from the Puntland Maritime Police Force and 25 from the Bosaso Port Po- lice blocked arms supplies to 30 pirates on board the Aris 13, said Saeed Rageh, minister for ports and counter-piracy of Puntland, a semi-autonomous region of Somalia.
“We surrounded them with our forces on land and sea,” he said. “Our priority was to rescue the crew. After two days of trying to supply the ship with new pirates and more ammunition, they could not get more guns.
“We had four skiffs and one large ship with supplies blocking the pirates from getting out of the bay. They tried many times to pressure the captain to sail out and we fired after giving them some time to surrender.”
Appealing to the international community for support against renewed incidents, he said attacks would continue because of drought and unemployment in Somalia.
The sailors who began their contract in Dubai in January have been told they will be sent home to recover and will be replaced by another crew.
Mrs Hettarachchi hopes her husband will never venture near the danger zone again.
“We are happy now but for days we were thinking of the end and how we would manage the rest of life. I never want him to go near Somalia ever again. Until they reach Colombo airport and we see them, we cannot rest.”
I could hear the gunfire and my husband was crying loudly – I have never heard him like that Samudra Hettarachchi wife of sailor taken hostage by Somali pirates