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4 years of Somali pirate hell and then, dash to freedom
Four long years in the hands of a group of Somali pirates, the only solace Niroshan and Bisthami found was by praying to God to bring about their rescue. They were among 11 who remained from what was originally a crew of 23, which comprised of two Indians and seven Bangladeshis.
“It was God’s will that we were able to escape after four years,” says Bisthami, a Maritime Engineer with 35-years experience as a seaman, who returned home this week after a nightmare ordeal in the hands of the Somalis.
Bisthami: Thank God, we are safe now. Pic by Nissanka Meegoda
The two men were met by their families at the airport and a church service was held to celebrate Niroshan’s return.
Bisthami had boarded the ship four years ago, determined to make it the last sea voyage to earn enough to settle the mortgage on his house. Three months after he was taken captive by the Somali pirates, the bank confiscated his house in Walauwatta, and today, he lives with his family in a rented house in Kolonnawa.
The group was able to escape with help from one of the pirates assigned to guard them. The Somali guard who became acquainted with his captives, told them he will assist them gain safe passage, if they were willing to pay him.
Realising it was their only chance, the group agreed and were given some sleeping pills to mix in the pirates’ food, but it had no effect on the guards who were eating a local herb to keep them awake.
Seizing, what Bisthami called was their last opportunity, they jumped out of a small, one-foot wide window of the building where they were being held. After running for hours and coming across a desert, they were able to call their Somali contact and get them to Galkayo, capital of the north-central Mudug region of Somalia. From that point onwards their return was facilitated by United Nations officials in the area, who had been in touch with them since the ship owner abandoned them two years before.
Bisthami was among six Sri Lankans on the ship, when Somali pirates hijacked the Malaysian flagged container vessel ‘Alberto’ on August 19, 2010, while on its way to Mambosa from Dubai.
“The pirates were armed with AK-47s, machine guns and other armour, and the crew had no option but to surrender,” says Bisthami.
After three months of captivity, the pirates demanded a ransom of $ 20 millon from the vessel’s owner. The owner refused to pay so much, but offered $ 200,000 instead. Negotiations continued but the ransom could not be agreed upon. At one point, a young Indian crew member was killed in front of Bisthami and three others including a Sri Lankan, to pressure the owner of the ship to pay up.
Niroshan reunited with the family. Pic by Hubert Fernando
Consequently, $ 1.25 million arrived, and a ransom of $ 2.85 million was agreed upon, but the owner defaulted.
Having lost all hope of being rescued, the crew were resigned to their fate. In August 2012, the seven Pakistanis paid $ 1.2 million and were released.
“The pirates tortured us and beat us often. Our Chief Engineer, who was also a Sri Lankan, took most of the beating, and then they beat me,” Bisthami says.
When the ship capsized, the Chief Engineer, who couldn’t swim, drowned. So did the other Sri Lankans, except for Niroshan and Bisthami who managed to swim to another vessel nearby.
Still under pirate captivity, the group of 11 hostages were taken to the mainland and kept there till their escape on June 6.