Pirates attack released Navy vessel MV Suez again

In a major twist, Cargo ship MV Suez, released by Somali pirates on Monday, was attacked by pirates again on Wednesday, as reported by crew members.

The six returning Indian crew members, after spending ten months being held hostage by Somali pirates in Gulf of Aden were released after paying a huge ransom by Ansar Burney, a Pakistani human rights activist.

The crew members reported that they were attacked by another troop of pirates, but this time they were successful to fight them back.

The Indian Navy had earlier assured us they are tracking us and will help within five minutes. But, after the attack today, no one came to help - no chopper, no plane came, said Ravinder Singh, the Captain of the ship.

The Indian Navy is now coordinating safety measures for MV Suez with friendly Navy warships in the region and the sailors are now on their way, expected to reach Oman in a few days.

Meanwhile, Abdul Mathar, the Egyptian owner of the ship told the media that it took long for them to establish contact with the crew on the ship. He also thanked Ansar Burney, the Pakistani human rights activist for his efforts and said that it was him who negotiated with the pirates and brought down the amount to $2 million.

When asked whether India helped them in the ordeal, Mathar said that they had contacted the Indian Ambassador in Cairo and hoped for help, but nothing was done so far.

He also said that the ship has headed to Salalah, Oman and from there it will head to Egypt adding the Indian crew members would be flown back to the country safely.

Somali pirates had released the hijacked MV Suez on Monday, Jun 13. The 22 crew members freed by the hijackers included people from India, Pakistan, Egypt and Sri Lanka.

Pakistan and India were supposed to raise $500,000 and $60,000 respectively, whereas the Egyptian shipping company was supposed to give $1million. Despite setting a deadline, India failed to fulfill its promise, said the report.