Somali pirates amputated right arm of the captain of fishing vessel Shiuh Fu No 1, reported news agency Somalia Report. Pirates demand $3 million ransom for the crew of the vessel, not for the vessel, because Shiuh Fu No 1 is high and dry on a beach along Somali coast for a long time. Vessel was hijacked in December 2010 and several times was used as a mother ship for ocean raids, until finally, Shiuh Fu No 1 was beached due to storm or negligence. Crew is 13 Chinese, 12 Vietnamese and 1 Taiwanese fishermen, their whereabouts after Shiuh Fu No 1was grounded are unknown. Pirates informed mad with grief relatives about amputation, demanding the ransom. There is a hope though, that this is one more lie on behalf of the pirates, with their “business” on the slide, they seem to lie much more often than in their good old days. They said amputation was purely business, they demand money from the owner of the vessel, which in itself is just a crap, because it’s absolutely clear owner abandoned vessel and crew long time ago. Why should he pay $3 million for the crew of lost vessel, when vessels in his line of business are much more expensive than crews? Relatives are not well off people, or else hijacked fishermen wouldn’t commit themselves to near slavery on Taiwanese fishing vessels, notorious for their unbearable working and living conditions and very low wages. China, Vietnam and Taiwan obviously don’t care about their citizen tortured in pirates captivity, let alone pay for them. Pirates may amputate all limbs of all the crew, it won’t help them to get the ransom they crave for. The news are real bad and sad, the only hope is, still, that this is a typical pirates bluff.
Voytenko Mikhail
