Pirates Claim $8 Million Ransom
By VENETIA ARCHER
Somalia Report sources have reported that MT FAIRCHEM BOGEY was released yesterday afternoon, for an estimated $8 million. The ransom is on the higher end of the spectrum of usual payouts, particularly for a vessel carrying just a partial load of methanol.
Pirates are predisposed to exaggerating the amounts they receive, given it is in their interest to drive up prices. The vessel’s release was negotiated quickly, however, just five months after the hijack. This could indicate that the pirates were willing to release the vessel for a lower price given their current low cash reserves. Somalia Report is waiting on further corroboration of the ransom amount.
Separate sources told Somalia Report that a helicopter was observed hovering over the vessel yesterday in anticipation of making the ransom drop.
The vessel had a crew of 21 Indians on board.
When hijacked, MT Fairchem Bogey was in an anchorage within the Salalah port limit waiting for berthing instructions from the port authorities after discharging at Al Jubail.
She had armed guards on board when she sailed through the Gulf of Aden on its way to unload at the Saudi port of Al Jubail on August 18, but was unprotected when she was taken by armed pirates on August 20 after dropping the security team off in Oman.
This article was posted by Neptune Maritime Security with the kind permission of SomaliaReport.com. MaritimeSecurity.Asia in cooperation with www.neptunemaritimesecurity.com
