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Journalism of Courage
For over three years, Aman Kumar Sharma was a prisoner in Somalia, leaving the dark room of his ship only to eat or take a toilet break. One night, he escaped along with 11 other sailors.
The sailors were among 23 crew members of MV Albedo, a Malaysian-flagged cargo ship hijacked on November 26, 2010, after leaving Jebel Ali port in Dubai. Sharma (23) and Raju Prasad Rajwar were the only Indians on board with seven Pakistanis, seven Sri Lankans, seven Bangladeshis and an Iranian.
“After 45 days at sea, our ship was hijacked by pirates near Malaysia,” said Sharma, standing with his parents who had come to receive him in Mumbai to take him back to his hometown of Kangda in Himachal Pradesh.
Sharma said at sunrise on November 26, 2010, the crew saw a small ship approaching them. The crew could not see that it was traveling parallel to them. Three pirates, with guns and a rocket launcher, jumped aboard taking the crew hostage. The 11 pirates later took the ship towards Somalia. “For two days they kept us at gunpoint,” said Sharma.
“The pirates demanded $20 million. The company officials offered to pay $300,000. Hearing this, the pirates shot Rajwar, a sailor, on 25 June 2011. On 1st April 2011, the Pakistani crew were freed after their families raised part of a $2.85 million ransom. Things looked grim till July 6 2013, when Sharma and the others attempted their first escape.
The men swam up to a fishing trawler anchored nearby, which, however, belonged to the pirates. For a year the men were on the trawler, held in a cramped room, before they broke a window and fled. They took cover in a forest. The men’s escape this weekend was assisted by a split in the pirates’ ranks. “I will never let Arun out of my sight again,” said Sharma’s father.
megha.sood@expressindia.com
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