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The seven Bangladeshi, two Sri Lankan, one Indian and one Iranian hostage were among the 23 crew on the Malaysian-owned and flagged containership Albedo when it was hijacked by Somali pirates on 26 November 2010 while 900 nautical miles off Somalia. One Indian seafarer died in captivity, and seven Pakistani crew members were released in July 2012.
With the remaining hostages still on board and held captive in Somali waters, the Albedo became increasingly unseaworthy and sank in a heavy storm in July 2013. The 11 hostages now released were then taken ashore, but the fate of four Sri Lankan crew members following the storm is not known.
Welcoming the release and safe return of the remaining crew after 1,288 days in captivity, Peter Swift, chair of the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme (MPHRP) also extended the organisation's thoughts to the families of the Indian hostage who died in captivity and the four missing Sri Lankan seafarers.
The MPHRP points out that nearly 40 seafarers and fishers are still held hostage in Somalia, all for more than two years – some for over four years – and has called for efforts to release these captives.
Commenting on the news, Dave Heindel, chair of the ITF seafarers' section, also welcomed the decision by NATO to extend its anti-piracy operation off Somalia until the end of 2016, and pointed to the role of the military, as well as the deployment of onboard private armed guards, in countering Somali piracy.
"However, there is still a very real threat that the problem could return if any of the counter measures are taken away." He also added that further counter-piracy measures needed to be taken elsewhere, "especially in West Africa".
All attacks and suspicious sightings should be reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre:
tel: +603 2031 0014 (24 hours)
email: imbkl@icc-ccs.org