Somali: Fate of our ignored MV Suez sailors still unknown

New Delhi, Mar 10: While 11 Indians aboard MV Rak Afrikana were freed by the Somali pirates on Mar 9, the fate of six others on MV Suez is still hanging in the balance as the deadline given by the pirates ended on Wednesday, Mar 9. MV Suez has been hijacked since Aug 2, 2010.

On Mar 2, TV reports quoted a pirate as saying, "We are also running short of time, last 8 months we have been going on like this. All we want is the ransom, if someone comes with the money tomorrow morning, one week is maximum. Now there is no reason and I will not say what we are going to do next, we do not like talking to the media. But you can understand, so try to do something."

Families of the six Indian sailors onboard MV Suez have now decided to hold a protest in New Delhi on Mar 10. Sushma Swaraj, leader of the opposition will tahe the kins of the six Indian sailors to Speaker of the Lok Sabha. They are also expected to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the evening.

S M Krishna, the External Affairs Minister has assured the Lok Sabha that everything possible to secure the release of the Indian sailors is being done. He said, At present, there are 79 Indians on seven ships that are in the custody of Somali pirates."

The minister also informed that he had talks with the Egyptian ambassador who has assured full support for the safe and quick release of the hostages.

The Egyptian owner of the hijacked vessel MV Suez has declined to pay ransom for the release of the ship and the sailors.

MV Suez, a ship of Red Sea Navigation, has been hijacked by the pirates in the Gulf of Aden since Aug 2, 2010. The crew comprises of 6 Indians, 4 Pakistani, 4 Sri Lankans and 11 Egyptians.

OneIndia News