Sometimes we drank sea water, says Suez survivor

NAGERCOIL: “We are grateful to Pakistani human right activist Ansar Burney, Ahmed Chinoy and the Karachi Governor for holding successful negotiations with the Somali pirates,” said Infant Viju, a sailor from Alanji in Kumari district and one of the crew members of MV Suez cargo vessel, that was held captive by Somali pirates. Speaking to Express, Viju narrated the entire traumatic experience of over 11 months. “On August 2, 2010, at around 7 am, when we were in the Gulf of Aden, some five Somali pirates chased us in a mechanised boat,” he says.The pirates had machine guns and rocket launchers and once they entered the vessel, they asked the vessel to be taken into the Somali waters. “We travelled for some two-and-a-half days and entered Somali waters, after which they asked us to anchor the vessel some six nautical miles from the coast,” Viju says.After around 10 days, they brought a translator and demanded $60 lakh as ransom. “Our shipping company replied that they did not have money to pay the ransom,” Viju says. A few days later, their shipping company cut the satellite phone links and internet connections in the ship.  In the meantime, Ansar Burney, Ahmed Chinoy and the Karachi Governor started negotiattion with the pirates. Viju recalls that they had stocked food needed for two months.  Despite economical usage of drinking water, the stock was over after four months, after which the pirates used to bring drinking water from their coast. “They used to bring water in the same can that was used to get petrol and diesel for the vessel. Many times the drinking water we consumed used to contain oil spillage. Some times we drank seawater,” he recalls. During negotiations, whenever the pirates got any negative response from the shipping company, they used to beat them up. Viju said that he could speak to his family only five times in these 11 months. Finally, Ansar Burney fixed the ransom amount at $21 lakh and the pirates accepted.