Karachi-based engineer Syed Hussain Yusuf, one of 10 Pakistanis aboard oil tanker Honor 25, has described how he survived more than five months of captivity after Somali pirates hijacked the ship en route to Mogadishu.
“Armed men climbed onto our ship”
In an interview with Express News, Yusuf said he was sleeping in his room on the day of the hijacking when a colleague knocked on the door and warned him that pirates had arrived and were firing.
“Four minutes later, armed men climbed onto our ship and held us hostage for more than five months.”
Yusuf said that on one occasion, when a European Union warship, Atlanta, came near their vessel, the pirates pointed weapons at their heads.
“On the day of the operation, two ships came near our cargo. The pirates told me they had to flee from here and brought us to the engine room. Then there was an exchange of fire, bullets tore through the ship’s hull and seawater entered.”
He says he believed death was near
According to Yusuf, there was a moment during the ordeal when he was certain he would die.
“At one point I was sure death was coming, so I told a fellow countryman with me to recite the kalima too, because I had already recited it.”
He also said the company and the government left them helpless, and that if some steps had been taken, perhaps the three people who were killed could also have returned.
Complaint over the response after the rescue
Yusuf said he was unhappy that the government did not play any role in the case. He added that after he returned, he learned that when his family protested for his release, they were arrested and detained while holding pictures of the hostages and demanding their recovery.
He said he was happy to be back but remained saddened by the deaths of his shipmates, adding that they had spent more than five and a half months together.
