Spanish Skipper's Evidence Following Release From Somali Pirates

Skipper of Spanish Fishing Vessel Alakrana, Gives Evidence (eitb.com)

FV Alakrana (Image: tunaseiners.com)

Speaking in front of the National High Court in Madrid, Ricardo Blach, stated that he told a soldier on board the Spanish warship Canarias that the arrest of two pirates would hinder the rescue mission.

Captain Ricardo Blach of Basque tuna-fishing vessel, the Alakrana, which spent 47 days seized by Somali pirates, confirmed that the accused Somali pirates, Raageggesey Hassan Aji and Cabdullahi Cabduwily, alias 'Abdu Willy', were two of the members of a group of pirates that hijacked the vessel on 2 October 2009.
Calmly delivering his statement, Blach stated the Alakrana  was fishing in international waters close to the Somali coast. He further stated that neither one of the accused pirates hit him at any point during their time on the vessel, but they had made threatening gestures. "All of them made gestures," he added, "suggesting they would cut your  throat" he went on to say.
Blach described the moment when the pirates first attacked the ship as it started to trail the tuna at dawn. 2 pirate skiffs with 13 persons onboard began shooting at the fishing crew before forcibly boarding the vessel: "At that point they gave me a tremendous beating," he said.
Holding Kalashnikovs to intimidate and cramming the crew together in the sailors' mess, to lie on top of the tables; and unable to rest, he stated.

Describing the arrest of the accused pirates, 'Abdu Willy' and Hassan Aji, by the Spanish warship Canarias, serving as part of the EU's NAval Force 'Operation Atalanta' (Headquarters based in Northwood ,UK), he said he used the time permitted by the pirates to call his family to make contact with the warship.
"I spoke with one of the military crew and asked him if he intended to go public; when he said yes, I told him. 'you've messed up'," explained Blach.
The skipper explained that when the remaining pirates found out about the arrest, they subjected the Alakrana crew to "a terrible night", only calming down when they realised their fellow pirates had been injured but not killed. 

The skipper went on to say how dreadful the experience was. He said he had "...spent 18 days in my pyjamas without a shower. I peed myself countless times because they wouldn't let me go to the bathroom."  He went on to say, "They were always on drugs; they would start in the morning and by night time they were all in a bad state. They were constantly fighting. We experienced constant danger," added the captain.
In relation to the paying of a ransom for their release, Blach said he did not see the pirates receive any money at any given point neither by helicopter nor by any other means.

A Basque trawler from Bermeo, Biscay, the Alakrana was hijacked by Somali pirates on October 2nd, 2009, in international waters of the Indian Ocean. A month before, the ship had not long seen off another hijack attempt.
The crew of the Alakrana was comprised of 7 seamen from the Basque region; 9 from the Spanish Galician region; 2 Malaysian; 3 Senegalese; 4 Ghanaian; 2 Ivorian; 8 Indonesians and 1 Seychellois when the vessel was captured 350 miles off the Somali coast. At that time the area in which they were hijacked was outside of the joint operations area of the EU's Op Atalanta, which was launched in December 2008, to deter and disrupt piracy and armed robbery off the coast fo Somalia in according with UN regulations.
Prior to the attack, it was claimed the crew of the Alakrana had 7 minutes in which to raise the alarm and establish contact with other shipsin the area. Having taken the vessel to Somalia, the pirates allowed the crew to call the ship-owner "at least once a day," mostly likely to put pressure on them to make a ransom payment. However, initially, the Spanish government said it would not pay the pirates any ransom.

In the two days following the hijacking, two suspected pirates, Raageggesey Hassan Ajiand Cabdullahi Cabduwily, were captured by the Spanish frigate Canarias as they navigated a small boat in the vicinity of the Alakrana. Spanish High Court Judge Baltasar Garzón opened legal proceedings against the men.
On 5 October, Garzón imprisoned the two pirates. In all, they were accused of 36 crimes of false arrest, 1 count of illegal assembly and another for robbery with violence and the ues of weapons.
The remaining pirates involved in the hijack of the Alakrana stated they would not release the trawler unless the detainees were returned to Somalia. Skipper, Ricardo Blach, stated the situation was simple: "If the arrested pirates were allowed to return to Somalia, everything would be fixed; that's what they want," he told Basque public radio.
The pirates continued to press for the release of their two men; The families of the fishermen met with Spanish President Zapatero to ask that the two Somali pirates be extradited to Somalia. When the hostages were released, the two Somali suspects remained in custody in Madrid. On 16 October they were formally charged with kidnapping and related charges.

It is claimed that the release of the Alakrana crew was achieved following a promise by the then Spanish Ambassador to Kenya, Nicolás Martín Cinto, giving his word as a man of honour that the two Somalis would be repatriated immediately - a promise which was further claimed to have been broken. As a consequence, it is said to have made the release negotiations relating to the FV VEGA 5 extremely difficult.

More recently, it is estimated that at least 2 fishing vessels are being used for mothership operations, a development Alakrana was fortunate to avoid during the time of her capture.

Source: Medeshi Valley