Freed sailors demand Sh30m

Kenyan seafarers released recently after a four-month hijack ordeal in Somali waters are demanding about Sh30 million as salaries and damages from the ship owner.

Each of the 39 crew members of the rickety Fv Golden Wave, which was hijacked last October 9, and released on February 8 has accumulated arrears of Sh850,000, the sailors claimed on Tuesday.

“We are calling on the government to assist us recover this money,” said Josek Amere, their spokesman who met with Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) officials over the matter.

The maritime agency has since declared the vessel unseaworthy and ordered she undergoes extensive repairs.

Director-general Nancy Karigithu said the authority was closely monitoring the situation and would issue orders to the ship owner after they gathered all the information.

“We have asked them to calculate the total amount of money they owe and then we will take necessary action,” she said.  

Golden Wave was freed without payment of a Sh50 million ransom demanded, after being used to attack other ships. The pirates attacked 17 vessels and hijacked five more ships.

A week after their arrival, the seamen said: “We were drinking unsafe water and some of the pirates looked sick. But since we arrived we have not undergone any check-up to establish if we contracted any diseases and we fear for our families,” he said.

The sailors said they endured inhuman treatment in the hands of the sea gangs, who continue to elude international navies engaged in the Indian Ocean.

But none of the 39 owes his survival to God more than Mr Anthony Oduor. As the third engineer, Mr Oduor was responsible for ensuring the engine room was clear of dirty water, which sometimes mixes with diesel.

On November 12, over a month after their hijack, Mr Oduor realised that murky water had reached a level it needed to be pumped out; but the pirates would hear none of this.

“We were being pursued by some naval ships and they thought we were pumping diesel out so that the vessel would stall,” he recalls.

What followed, he says, was torture that will for ever be ingrained in his mind.

“Their leader whipped out a pistol and aimed it at my head and shot. The bullet failed to come out. He hit the pistol on his knee several times and shot again but it failed. He then shoved me out of the engine room to the upper deck and ordered two of his colleagues with AK47 rifles to shoot me,” he narrates.

The next thing he saw was smoke as bullets flew inches from his head — two missed his head as the vessel swayed from side to side due to waves.

“All this time we were screaming and praying…at the end we could not believe Anthony was still alive.

“They later tied his legs and hands and whipped him as he lay on his belly. It was very traumatic,” says Mr Joseph Kamande, a father of four.

Seafarers Assistance Programme Coordinator Andrew Mwangura said: “The vessel is licensed to fish in Kenyan territorial waters and since it is flying the country’s flag, the Special Programmes ministry should set aside some funds and help pay them.”