Captain of Hijacked Ship Feels Like He Was 'Dead and Born'

Somali pirates free 1st vessel seized since 2012
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 20, 2017 12:43 AM CDT
Somali Pirates Free 1st Major Ship Seized Since 2012
The Aris 13 oil tanker, near Bossaso, in Somalia's semiautonomous northeastern state of Puntland.   (STR)

The captain of the crew of a Comoros-flagged oil tanker that was hijacked and then released by Somali pirates said he feels like he was "dead and born" after the ship reached a port in northern Somalia. Nicholas Anthony said Sunday he's grateful for efforts by the semiautonomous Puntland state in northern Somalia to secure their release. He gave no details about their captivity or how their freedom was secured, the AP reports. The ship, which had a crew of eight Sri Lankans, docked at the port of Bossaso, the region's commercial hub, accompanied by local naval forces who boarded the ship after pirates released it as a result of negotiations with local elders and regional authorities.

The tanker Aris 13 was hijacked last week in the first such seizure of a large commercial vessel off Somalia since 2012. International anti-piracy patrols on the crucial trade route had calmed such attacks, which once numbered in the hundreds. The ship was carrying fuel from Djibouti to Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, on March 13 when it was approached by armed men in two skiffs, and the tanker issued a call for help. The pirates told authorities that they didn't seize the ship for ransom but to protest the illegal fishing in the area by international vessels that has threatened the ability of local fishermen to earn livelihoods. (More Somali pirates stories.)

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