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>> What did they do, how did they capture you?
>> They captured us in the morning; it was around 4 am in the morning. And they came
two, two skiffs approached us, one on starboard side, the other on the port side and they
were firing all over. They had some RPGs, the machine guns, the AK47s, they were firing
all over, ordering the Captain to stop the vessel, also the Captain noticed them while
we were closer. We tried to cut the line, to cut off the long liner and we tried to
sail deeper but they ordered the Captain to stop the vessel or else they would fire the
vessel and sink it. So the Captain had no option.
>> How were you treated after you were captured, what happened like the first two days?
For the first two days it was miserable because we were kept under confined circumstances,
even if you want to help yourself to relieve yourself you had to be escorted with a machine
gun on your head. >> On your head?
>> Yes, and you were escorted to the restroom and you only have one minute to do your business
and escort you back to the place, to the deck and for food we had to go for at least a day
without food for the first day and they took all our food which was on board and we were
rationed only one food per day, one meal per day because they said if we eat so much it
will make us stronger so they give us only one meal per day. Yes.
>> How long were you held captive? >> We were held captive for about four-and-a-half
months. >> Did they beat you?
>> Yes. They even nearly killed some of us. >> Tell me about this?
There was a moment when there was an oil spill from the engine room but the bilges were not
working so well because the ship was an old ship and it is not meant to go for many miles
without service, so there was a leakage in the engine room and the bilges were releasing
oil. Most of the Somali pirates don't know about the functions of the engine, so they
thought that we were trying to spill some of the oil into the sea so that we can get
marooned in the ocean. So they took the engineer, the chief engineer and some of the servicemen
from the engine room, they tied them up at the boat and wanted to kill all of them one
by one, and it was only fortunate there was a EU NAVFOR ship that was lurking around.
That's when the process stopped because they had to be on guard, and that's what saved
them. But they had started firing, it only missed some few bullets, missed a guy from
engine room but they really beat them up, beat them up. There's a chain, the bullet
chain from the machine gun, they whipped them up with the bullet chain.
>> They whipped them with the bullet chain? >> Yes.
>> So, Festus, tell me how's it been since you've been released, how do you feel?
>> I feel great to be released; yes it's a great feeling.
>> Are you doing okay? As for now, not doing okay because we lost
our jobs and since then we haven't been paid by the owner of the ship, after our release
so it is, we came from one problem to even a bigger problem because after release we
were bankrupt by the company, they didn't pay us for the service we provided, we came
back with the fish before we captured, they didn't pay for that, our salary or anything
to pay for them so it was like coming from the frying pan into the fire.
>> And did you get any medical care? They didn't give us any medical care; we
were just left to our own till now.