No information about the state of sailors kidnapped by Somali pirates over two months ago has been given to their families
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Five Danes were aboard the freighter Danica White when the ship was taken by pirates 2 June while on its way from Dubai to Mombassa, Kenya in the Arabian Sea. The pirates are demanding DKK 8 million for the ships release. The ship’s owners, H. Folmer & Co of Copenhagen, have been only willing to pay DKK 1.9 million.
Meanwhile, as the negotiations drag on, the sailors families have been provided no information from the Foreign Ministry about the status of the hostages’ or about the negotiations. Family members last heard from the sailors at the end of June.
The families have met regularly with the state police, who have also offered them crisis help. Ulla L, mother to one of the hostages, said she hopes the families pleas for information are soon heard.
‘Right now I can only hope that my son is doing okay, considering the circumstances,’ she said. ‘But I just don’t know.’
Fritz Ganzhorn, manager of the Danish Maritime Officers’ secretariat, said the lack of information from authorities was unacceptable.
‘It’s simply not good enough that the families aren’t getting better information, especially considering it’s been such a long time since the hijacking,’ he said.
Uffe Wolffhechel, head of consular services for the Foreign Ministry, admitted the families have been kept more or less in the dark about the negotiating process.
‘It’s for the crew’s sake that we’re careful about releasing information about the negotiations. We have to be extremely cautious.’
The ship had been rumoured to be carrying weapons at the time of the hijacking, but the cargo is now believed to be only building materials.
Source: Copenhagen Post, Aug 08, 2007