Somali Pirates free German cruising sailors

by BW Media on 14 Aug 2008 Two German cruising sailors freed by Somali Pirates after after 41 days in captivity have now been airlifted to Kenya, a regional maritime official said Sunday.

Pirates on Friday freed two German sailors they had held in remote northern Somalia since June, said locals elders and a source close to the gang. The two Germans were seized off Yemen in June while sailing to Thailand. The pirates ransacked their yacht then took them to northern Somalia by a speedboat.

'They have released the two Germans,' said an accomplice of the pirates, who gave his name as Yusuf. 'They are well and we will be taking them to Bosasso.'

Local elders confirmed the pair had been freed after a ransom was paid. Yusuf, who was among a group that carried the cash to the kidnappers, said it was $1 million.

The German cruising couple, Andrew Mwangura, East African Coordinator of the Seafarers Assistance Program (SAP), said the 63-year-old Juergen Kantiner and the 51-year-old Sabine Merck, who were kidnapped on June 23 this year, are expected to fly to Germany early next week.

'The couple arrived in Nairobi yesterday (Sunday) afternoon from Somalia en-route to Germany. The gunmen abandoned the Yacht Boat on the shores and disappeared into the mountains,' said Mwangura, who met the freed couple in Nairobi on Sunday.

'The couple complained a lot that they were harassed. It was not clear if the full ransom had been paid to free the hostages from the pirates' mountain stronghold, although initial reports indicate that some big money exchanged hands,' he said.

Pirate attacks against fishing boats, cargo ships and yachts off Somalia's coast have surged over recent months. Foreigners, who can be exchanged for large ransoms, are frequent targets. Somalia's coastal waters are close to shipping routes connecting the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, and the country's interim government lacks the resources to police the country's coastline.