March 10, 2010: An agreement has been reached to pay a ransom to the Somali pirates for the release of 13 Sri Lankan seamen, says the Foreign Ministry.
It is learnt that the shipping company and the relevant insurance company are intervening in the process for the seamen's release.
Meanwhile, the Somali pirates have agreed to a request that the seamen be allowed to speak to their families by phone and they had requested a satellite phone connection for that purpose.
According to W. M. S. Wijesundera, Director, Consular Affairs of the Foreign Ministry, negotiations to release captives of Somali pirates could take at least two months.
A director of the local agent of the ship, speaking to Newsfirst said that eight of the Lankan sailors were from Colombo and the rest were from Jaffna.
Meanwhile, Newsfirst team was able to speak to the family of Wijayamuni Elmo Anslem Soysa, Chief Electrician of the Saudi tanker Al Nasir Al Saudi, being held by Somali pirates.
A resident of Kandana, Elmo, a seaman for the last 30 years had told his family that it would be his final voyage as a seaman.
“He left on December 23 to join the ship, a tanker. They were bringing the ship from Japan,” said his wife Swarna Mareena.
“On their way to Saudi Arabia from Japan, when the vessel was off Devundara while going past the southern coast, he called me on the phone,” said Swarna.
Since that conversation, she heard his voice again only after the ship fell into the hands of Somali pirates. And the call lasted only two minutes.
“He told me that they were not allowed to say much and told us to pray to God.”
Being so far away from the homeland, there is little the family could to but to pray and hope.
As such, they request the authorities to intervene at government level to facilitate the release of their loved ones.
“The only request we make is for the state to intervene on their behalf and to make arrangements for their early release,” said Elmo's son Eranda Soysa.
