MV Dover and 24 crew released by Somali pirates following $3.8 million ransom payment
By Andrew Mwangura, Somalia Report - Exclusive
MV Dover has finally been released by Somali pirates, officials who spoke to Somalia Report have confirmed.
“MV Dover was released today, and the vessel has left Bargaal with warships,” Ahmed Gurey, Governor of Bargaal District told Somalia Report on Friday morning.
This follows a $3.8M ransom payment dropped by air (some witnesses claim it was a helicopter which would be unusual) on Wednesday, according to pirates who spoke to Somalia Report.
Late on Thursday, Mohamed Ahmed, a pirate man of the group holding MV Dover, hinted to Somalia Report that they were planning to release the vessel. After counting the ransom, some of the pirates left the vessel with the cash and arrived on land while the last group waited to leave upon receiving permission from their investor.
Now that the Danish hostages, Jan Quist Johansen, his wife Birgit Marie, their three teenage children and two crew members, are safely home and the MV Dover, the hijacked ship on which they were being held, are free Somalia Report can provide details on the ransoms.
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| MV Dover (Source: Marinetraffic.com) |
First, the ransom for the aging MV Dover and its crew of 24 was $3.8 million dollars. The Danish family brought an additional $3.5 million which is the highest ever paid for tourists in the region. To be fair the plight of young children is not worth haggling, but the ransom does send a clear message to pirates that private yachts, pleasure sailors and in the case of British tourist Judith Tebbutt, land based tourists may be at greater risk.
In February of this year, the Johansens and their crew were pirated on a round the world tour shortly after four Americans were captured and killed in a botched rescue attempt that involved the USS Enterprise, Seal Team 6 and three other Navy ships. The Danish yacht [SY Ing] was grabbed on February 24 south of Yemen and MV Dover was taken four days later. Both ships were sailed to the Bargal area.
The pirates co-mingled the Danish crew of the SY Ing (with its unfortunate banking logo from the previous owner) and the crew of MV Dover and often asked one ransom for both. After a botched rescue attempt, both pirates and locals in Bargal and the Harfun area became very nervous. A series of shoot-outs soon confined the pirates to the ship which moved often. In August a deal was reached but the $10.5 million had to be gathered and dropped. With the average ransom running about half of what the Dover brought this has reset the bar for both aging bulk carriers and innocent civilians.
There were about two dozen pirates involved in both hijacks led by Ise Yulux from Sub-clan Ali Saleeban of Majerten Clan. The negotiator was Mohamed Ghani from the Omar Mohamud Majerten clan. The other pirates were composed of 11 ex-soldiers from Puntland, eight fishermen, three local businessmen, a school teacher and a taxi driver from Bosaso.
This group is still targeted by the Puntland security forces for the ambush and killing of seven Puntland soldiers in Hul Anod village after a rescue attempt.
Read more Somalia Report.
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