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The ITF Seafarers Trust and the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme (MPHRP) hosted a packed press screening of the film A Hijacking, which they describe as possibly “the first genuinely realistic portrayal of the sheer horror and brutality inflicted on the victims of pirate attacks”.
The film, directed by Danish Director Tobias Lindholm, opens in UK cinemas on 10 May but will be screened for the maritime industry on 22 April in London. It was shot on a ship that had previously been hijacked by pirates and with expert help from those with knowledge of the realities of such attacks. The press screening, on 26 March, was attended by senior personnel from the EU Naval Force (EU Navfor), among others.
MPHRP chair Peter Swift, commented: “Despite the world’s reliance on goods shipped by sea, the plight of seafarers running the daily risk of pirate attack and capture is not widely recognised. We hope that A Hijacking will help the public understand the horror that seafarers face.”
Roy Paul of the Seafarers Trust and MPHRP project manager added: “This powerful film is a stark wake up call. It shows the horrific ordeal hijacked seafarers experience, where malnutrition, extreme deprivation and regular brutality are the norm. Several seafarers have been killed or used as human shields.”
Somali pirates currently hold 78 seafarers hostage. They use torture, the threat of death against hostages and tactics such as phoning the victims’ families and making them listen to their loved ones being tortured as tools to extract massive ransoms. The average length of captivity is now over 17 months, every day of which is likely to be marked by brutality.
The MPHRP is the lead organisation helping freed hostages and attacked seafarers and their families to cope with the physical and mental effects of capture, torture and the threat of pirate attack. It is funded by the ITF Seafarers’ Trust, the TK Foundation, Seafarers UK and the International Group of P&I clubs.