7-month impasse continues, pirates demand $4 mn

Mogadishu, Mar 2: Somalian pirates who have hijacked MV Suez, a ship of Red Sea Navigation have now increased the ransom for releasing six Indians to $4 million, reported a TV channel.

According to TV reports, a week-long deadline has been put forth for the ransom.

TV channels quoted one of the pirates as saying, "Our demand is ransom money, you know ransom money. We want four million from the company which is working for this crew. Last time when we called the company, we demanded the ransom. He told us he did not want the ship or the crew."

The pirate was also quoted 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."

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.

Exactly seven months have passed but there has been no solution to the impasse with neither the respective national governments nor the company have shown any willingness to resolve the issue.

OneIndia News