Sunday, December 29, 2013
For Ajay Furtado, a former sailor, probably the most vivid memory of
his last sail in 2010 is one of fear. "My wife and daughters were
accompanying me on that trip and I saw the ship in front of me being
attacked by pirates. It was the scariest moment of my life, since I had
my family with me," he recalls. Furtado had survived three pirate
attacks prior to this, when the pirates had looted the
ships and left.
According to Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme (MPHRP),
an NGO, as of December 2013, 50 sailors from across the world are being
held hostage by pirates. Eight of them are Indians.
The International Maritime Organisation, a specialised United Nations
agency, describes piracy as any illegal act of violence or detention,
or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the
passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft.
But Furtado has another definition when talking of pirates: "The
Asian pirates are more gentlemanly. They will take what you have and
leave. The African pirates, especially the Somali pirates, are
barbaric," he says.
A spokesperson for Essar Shipping says, " Since the 1990’s, South
East Asia has been identified as one of the global ‘destination’ of
pirate attacks on merchant vessels. However for the past several years,
piracy has emerged as a significant threat to world shipping in Gulf of
Aden and Arabian Sea."
Adds Anjan Sinha, an Indian seafarer currently based in Singapore,
"Piracy is also making its presence felt in the Gulf of Guinea, which
includes littorals of Nigeria, Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast. Unlike along
the Horn of Africa (that includes Somalia), no effective naval forces
are active here."
For the sailors, sailing in these high risk areas entail a constant
threat to life. Abduction means captivity, sometimes for years, and
physical ordeals that range from being beaten up to being left with
little or no food for days at a stretch. "Between 2008 to 2013 more than
4,000 sailors have been held captive by pirates," informs Chirag Bahri,
regional director, MPHRP. Thirty-three Indian sailors returned home in
2013 after being released by the pirates.
The issue of piracy was back in focus with the arrest of Captain
Sunil James, an Indian seafarer, in Togo. James had alighted at Togo to
report a pirate attack on his vessel.
He was finally released and returned home on December 19. His arrest
again fanned the debate over the role of the government and
shipowners/operators in securing a sailor’s release in case of a pirate
attack and ensuing legalities, if any. Sinha gives the example of the
hijacking of MV Maersk Alabama, an American vessel in April, 2009, while
talking of the government’s role.
The US had used navy seals to kill the pirates and release the
captain of the vehicle. The rescue operation inspired a book and the
film Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks in the title role. "Every Navy
is capable of this but does not do it to avoid international
arguments," says Sinha.
The IMO has issued advisaries/guidelines to both the government and
shipowners and operators to help prevent acts of piracy. While the
Indian Navy is part of an international contingent that guards high risk
areas, the government has been blamed of being lackadaisical in its
attitude towards sailors.
In 2012, Delhi-based lawyer, Gaurav Kumar Bansal, moved the Supreme
Court to direct the Centre to take urgent steps for ensuring release of
Indian sailors held captive by Somali pirates since 2010 and for framing
"effective" anti-piracy guidelines.
In response to the petition, the Centre, in April 2013 had informed
the Supreme Court that it will soon bring in a legislation, the Anti
Piracy Bill 2012, to address the problem. The sailors were released in
2013.
"The Bill is yet to be passed," says Bansal. Adds Furtado, "The lack
of urgency shown by the Indian government in such cases is related to
the lack of public awareness on marine piracy.
In 2011, on an average, approximately one ship a week was attacked by
pirates. If the same had been true for aeroplanes it would have made
international news." The MPHRP and the government itself, though, refute
any lapse in action when it comes to extending all possible help to
sailors and their families.
"In case of a pirate attack and abduction of an Indian seafarer, we
get in touch with the shipowner/operator to gather information and reach
out to the seafarer in any possible way. None of the cases of
abduction/hostage yet have been on a vessel bearing an Indian flag.
So we get in touch with the flag nation of the vessel concerned, the
country where the Indian national seafarer is being held hostage and
also international law enforcement agencies concerned to ask them to use
their influence over the shipowner/operator to help the seafarers.
Medical assistance wherever feasible and need based is also sought to
be arranged," explains Deepak Shetty, joint director general,
directorate general of shipping, Government of India. Shetty admits that
communication can be a challenge when the Indian sailor is working in a
foreign vessel.
"Some flag nations are less responsive than others. But we also raise the issue at international platforms," he says.
Shetty also talks of being in touch with and extending help to the
family of the seafarer and efforts made to rehabilitate the sailor once
he is released. "343 Indian sailors have been taken hostage by pirates
since 2008, . Eight are still in captivity, one died and one is missing.
All the others have been brought back," says Shetty.
He doesn’t talk of the time taken to ensure their release.
In case of abduction, to pay the ransom is, of course, the
responsibility of the ship owner/operator. Big operators and ship owners
usually have a policy in place to help sailors.
A spokesperson for Essar Shipping says, "The company has policy to
provide armed security guards on board its vessels, as and when ships
transit through the Gulf of Aden. All ships are registered under MSCHOA
(Marine Security Center - Horn of Africa) while they transit the high
risk area.
The seafarers are given counselling on what to do if pirates take
control, in event of military action and emergency communication." But
sailors share that all is not as it seems on paper.
Especially when it comes to smaller operators.
"Sailors are supposed to have a choice when it comes to sailing in
high risk areas. If a sailor refuses, the company is to arrange for his
return. But most often, if a sailor refuses to sail to a high risk area,
he has to arrange for his own return.
Also, I have noticed that sailors who have refused to sail in such
areas find it difficult to find employment subsequently," says a sailor
on condition of anonymity.
Those in authority feel awareness is the best protection. "Sailors
should choose only authorised/licensed recruitment and placement
seafarers’ service providers/agencies," cautions Shetty. "Knowing about
the possible risks helps a sailor to be mentally alert and prepared,"
says Bahri.
In troubled waters: case studies
Trapped, beaten, starved for three years
Jadhav was on watch-keeping duty on the MV Iceberg 1 when eight
Somali pirates took the wheel at gunpoint on March 28, 2010. The vessel
was carrying a cargo of tin and automobiles and was on its way to Dubai
when it was waylaid and steered towards Somalia.
It would stay there until December 23, 2012.
For nearly three years, Jadhav and his colleagues lived in fear for
their lives, with virtually no contact with their families and no idea
of what would become of them.
"I was allowed to speak to my family only five times," he says. "The
only reason we were allowed to call at all was because the pirates
wanted us to tell our families that we would all be killed if someone
didn’t pay them their ransom."
To intimidate the men further, sailors were often picked at random, beaten and locked alone in a room.
"Sometimes they would be gone for days, sometimes for months," Jadhav says.
When one Yemeni sailor committed suicide, his body was kept in a
freezer for four months. "When the ship ran out of diesel, they threw
him in the water. Of all their mistreatment, that shook us the most,"
says Jadhav.
Food was scarce for the prisoners. "We were given one chapati and a
little boiled rice whenever the pirates felt like feeding us," says
Jadhav.
Their captors wanted 10 million dollars from the owners of the ship.
"They kept telling us that we would be kept for 10 years if their
demands were not met," says Jadhav. "Our families said the government
was trying to rescue us, but there was no immediate help, so we soon
lost all hope."
The 22 men on board the vessel were finally rescued by the Puntland
maritime police, after a fight that lasted 13 days. During this rescue
operation, Jadhav was injured after a bullet pierced his leg. There was
no medical aid on the ship, so he spent four days of his captivity with a
numb and bleeding leg, in excruciating pain from injuries, assaults by
the pirates, and from having his limbs tied together.
"When we finally saw a chopper in the air, we knew that we were going home," says Jadhav.
Five of the six Indian sailors on board returned on a flight organised by the Indian Air Force; the sixth was never found.
"My parents just kept weeping at the airport," says Jadhav. "They
don’t want me to go off to sea any more. They’re terrified that, next
time, they won’t get me back."
— Anubhuti Matta
Released, after 371 days in captivity
Both Arun and Kumar were working on the MT Royal Grace, when it was
captured by pirates on 2 March, 2012, near Oman. MT Royal Grace had set
sail from Dubai on 28 February, 2012, with a 22-member crew. Seventeen
of the 22 on board were Indians. Previously owned by a Dubai-based
company, the vessel had just been acquired by a Nigerian owner, and the
crew were taking the ship to hand it over.
"We had no cargo on board, but we had filled the ship with sea water
to reduce the rocking of the vessel and so it appeared loaded," explains
Kumar. It was at approximately 4pm on 2 March that the pirates boarded
the ship and took the crew hostage.
"The group of ten pirates came in a speedboat. They wouldn’t believe
us when we told them that the ship was empty. When they found it really
was, they became very angry. They were Somali pirates, known to come far
away from their own shores to attack ships. After they took us hostage,
they took the ship to Somalia. Then they called the Nigerian owner of
the ship and demanded 25 million dollars as ransom. The owner said that
it was too high a sum, and then negotiations started," remembers Kumar.
Arun remembers that he was allowed to call home two-three times.
"They always wanted us to tell our families to arrange for the money or
they would kill us," he says. Food was scarce, "a little rice and
potato. And we didn’t get food everyday. I weighed only 40kgs when I was
released. If I had been in captivity for a few more days I would have
died," says Arun.
Adds Kumar, "Some of us had been given permission to fish. Physical
abuse was routine. Sometimes they would tie us up and hang us upside
down. A senior Nigerian officer died of a heart attack a month after we
were taken hostage. We preserved his body for a month, but when we
realised we weren’t getting released anytime soon, we had to give him a
sea burial."
Finally the owner agreed to pay 10 million dollars, but then he
started putting off the payments. "There was no cargo. For so much money
he could have bought a new ship. He probably wasn’t too keen on paying
the ransom," says Arun.
The crew were finally released on 8 March 2013, after 371 days in
captivity. "We are still not sure who paid the ransom money. The owner
of our ship didn’t. We heard that soon after capturing our ship, the
same group of pirates had captured a ship owned by a Greek company. Many
of the crew members of that ship were Indian.
The owner of that ship paid 18 million dollars to the pirates, as a
result of which they let us off too," says Kumar, adding, "The Indian
government did nothing to help us. Our families met many senior
politicians. They would assure them of helping us, but nothing
transpired. After we were released they gave us some bravery award. A
few also managed to get jobs with big companies. But there was little
help when we were in trouble."
Kumar would like to return to sea, but his parents are terrified of
letting him go again. He is now busy setting up a business of his own.
Arun would like a shore job, but he is still recuperating from the
trauma of that year spent in captivity.