Government officials yesterday confirmed a local media report that said Somali pirates have recently demanded an exorbitant ransom from the family of Wu Lai-yu (吳來于), the captain of Jih-chun Tsai No. 68, held by the pirates since April 1.
Citing sources among Wu’s friends, the Chinese-language United Daily News reported yesterday that Somali pirates had recently demanded a ransom of US$8 million, several times higher than the average ransom paid in similar situations in the past. The paper said Wu told his friends via telephone that he had been physically crippled by the ordeal, adding that Wu’s family has pleaded with Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for help with the ransom negotiations and the release of Wu and the ship.
The ministry’s Department of African Affairs Director-General Samuel Chen (陳士良) said yesterday that the ministry was aware of the situation and that there was little the government could do to negotiate the release of the vessel.
“We all have much sympathy for [the family members] and understand that it is an unaffordable ransom for the owner of the ship, which is not a large company … but if the government takes part in the negotiation, it would give pirates more leeway to demand an even higher ransom,” Chen said.
Chen said he could also expect negotiations with pirates to become more difficult in the future if the government got involved because it could embolden pirates.
The ship was seized by Somali pirates on April 1 when it was operating 368 nautical miles (682km) from the Somali coast with a crew of two Chinese and 11 Indonesians.
Immediately after the hijacking, the ministry sought help from the Piracy Reporting Center at the International Maritime Organization’s International Maritime Bureau in Kuala Lumpur, the UK’s Maritime Trade Organization and the US Fifth Fleet under Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain to rescue the hijacked vessel.
Aside from the Jih-chun Tsai No. 68, another Taiwanese fishing vessel, Tai Yuan 227, is still being held hostage by Somalia pirates.
The Tai Yuan 227, with a crew of 28, including nine Chinese, three Vietnamese, three Filipinos, seven Kenyans and two Mozambicans, was seized on May 6 in an area north off the Indian Ocean archipelago of the Seychelles as it headed for the Maldives.
Ecoterra International, an environmental non-governmental organization monitoring maritime activity, said at least 22 foreign vessels and one barge are being held by Somali pirates.
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