13 October 2008
Malaysia ex-hostages tell of Somali pirate threats
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Somali pirates pointed guns habitually at Malaysian and Filipino tanker crew members held captive for weeks, but allowed Muslim hostages to fast and pray to observe the holy month of Ramadan, news reports said Sunday.
The 79 crew members of two Malaysian vessels hijacked separately off the coast of Somalia in August were flown back to Malaysia on Saturday, nearly a week after the pirates freed them following the payment of an unspecified ransom.
Their narration of their time in captivity provided a glimpse into the behavior of Somalia's sea bandits at a time when the shipping lanes off the African country's lawless coast have turned into the world's most perilous waterway.
Malaysian crew member Baharudin Mohamed said the pirates were "fond of pointing their guns at us throughout the ordeal," the national news agency Bernama reported.
"We could not understand their language," he said. "That sometimes resulted in the pirates turning aggressive. However, they were accommodative when we requested to pray and we were able to fulfill our religious obligations" during the Ramadan fasting month that ended last week.
Dozens of vessels have been attacked in the notorious African waters this year, including four failed attempts in a single day last week. Pirates are demanding a US$20 million ransom for a Ukrainian cargo ship that was seized Sept. 25 as it transported 33 Soviet-designed tanks and heavy weapons to a Kenyan port.
The Malaysian crew said the pirates accidentally killed a Filipino while seizing their ship.
The pirates "fired a warning shot which unfortunately ricocheted off the ceiling and penetrated his head," crew member Nuzaihan Abd Rani was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper.
Crew members said the pirates approached their tankers in speed boats that looked like innocuous fishing vessels. Once they were close enough, they fired gunshots and climbed aboard.
Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau's Malaysian-based piracy reporting center, said 12 ships with more than 250 crew remained in the hands of pirates as of Friday.
"To be fair, if all ships maintain a 24-hour radar watch, the chances of them escaping is high," Choong told The Associated Press. "Once they keep a 24-hour watch, they can assess every small ship and they can take evasive measures and call for help."
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