Five Indians kidnapped by Somali pirates from a cargo ship have been released unharmed after more than five months in captivity, an official of the Directorate General of Shipping said on Monday.
On June 11, 2010, a ransom drop was made to the pirate group holding the merchant vessel at anchor in the vicinity of Garacad on the eastern coast of Somalia.
The vessel with a deadweight of 13.363 metric tonnes, was hijacked late in the afternoon on the January 1, 2010 approximately 900 nautical miles north of Seychelles and 600 miles east of the Somali coast.
The Indians were part of a 25-member international crew on board MV Asian Glory, the UK-flagged vessel, which was hijacked on January 1, 2010 from the Indian Ocean off the Somalian coast. The ship is being escorted to a safe port, the official said.
“We have received information from the representative of the owner of MV Asian Glory that the vessel has been released by Somali pirates on June 11 and is being escorted to a safe port,” the official said.
“All crew members, including five Indian nationals, are reportedly safe and in good health. We have informed their families about the same. We expect them to return to India soon,” the official added.
The ship’s crew comprised 10 Ukranians, eight Bulgarians and two Romanians besides the Indians. Over the past three months, Somali pirates have seized 11 dhows (slow-moving vessels) with over 120 Indians on board.
However, they later released some of the vessels after a ransom was paid by the owners. Over 50 Indians are still in their captivity.
Repeated attacks on Indian vessels had also prompted the government to issue warnings to dhows about the dangers in those waters, particularly along the sea-lanes of Salalah in Yemen and Male.