The Somali pirates holding seven Indian seafarers hostage despite
receiving the ransom amount from the shipping company have now refused
to talk to the ship owners or private negotiators for their release.
The Panama flagged vessel, MT Asphalt Venture, was hijacked by Somalian pirates off the Dar Es Salaam coast on September 22 with 15 Indian crew members. The ship owners finally negotiated a multi-million dollar ransom amount which was paid to them in April. The pirates, however, released only eight crew members.
The shipping company tried to get in touch with the pirates and also appointed a third-party negotiator for the release of the remaining hostages but it did not yield any results.The released crew members arrived in Mumbai this week.The National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) and several other sea farers associations and unions in the country staged a protest for the release of hostages.
A report of the event has been submitted to the ministry of external affairs (MEA).“The pirates have conveyed to some of international news agencies that they are not ready to carry out any negotiations with the shipping company or any third party negotiators but want to talk to the government of India representatives. Also, they have said they will hold talks only about the swap deal for the release of Somalian pirates arrested by the Indian Navy,” said a spokesperson from the shipping company.
He added, “Other than a piracy and hostage issue, this has now become a political one.”The government had set up an inter-ministerial committee comprising representatives of several ministries to resolve this issu
The Panama flagged vessel, MT Asphalt Venture, was hijacked by Somalian pirates off the Dar Es Salaam coast on September 22 with 15 Indian crew members. The ship owners finally negotiated a multi-million dollar ransom amount which was paid to them in April. The pirates, however, released only eight crew members.
The shipping company tried to get in touch with the pirates and also appointed a third-party negotiator for the release of the remaining hostages but it did not yield any results.The released crew members arrived in Mumbai this week.The National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) and several other sea farers associations and unions in the country staged a protest for the release of hostages.
A report of the event has been submitted to the ministry of external affairs (MEA).“The pirates have conveyed to some of international news agencies that they are not ready to carry out any negotiations with the shipping company or any third party negotiators but want to talk to the government of India representatives. Also, they have said they will hold talks only about the swap deal for the release of Somalian pirates arrested by the Indian Navy,” said a spokesperson from the shipping company.
He added, “Other than a piracy and hostage issue, this has now become a political one.”The government had set up an inter-ministerial committee comprising representatives of several ministries to resolve this issu