Twelve Indian seamen aboard the illfated motor vessel Al Taj which was hijacked by pirates of Somalia coast and then freed on payment of ransom finally arrived at the Hamriya port here.

“All the 12 sailors including the captain were in poor health because of stress and lack of proper food but now they are all ok,” said Narendra Shial, of Mustack Essa Trading Company here which owns the vessel.

The Dubai police are interrogating the sailors and once it is over they will sail to Gujarat after unloading the cargo consisting of general foodstuff in Dubai, said Shial. He said the captain of the ship was an Indian, Noor Mohammed and not a Libyan as reported earlier.

One sailor Juma Othman was killed during the hijacking and was buried at sea after a funeral held on board.

The Somalia coast is infested by pirates in the absence of effective coast guard monitoring and several attacks were reported previously too. Al Taj was hijacked on April 27.

Webmaster’s Note:
Apparently, it is not clear who paid the ransom or who was paid to, or even the amount.