Captured sailors' ship prison is free - but not the sailors

4:32 AM Tue 29 Dec 2009 GMT

'Chandler incident' .

If captured cruising sailors Paul and Rachel Chandler had only been able to remain on board the ship they were kept on by Somali pirates in their first weeks of captivity, they would now be free.

The EU naval task force patrolling the region has now confirmed that the Singapore-flagged container ship Kota Wajar has now been freed in Somalia after the payment of a ransom. Pirates had used the container ship for accommodation for the Chandlers soon after their capture, while the British naval vessel Wave Knight looked on helplessly during the incident, for fear of accidentally harming the couple if they attempted a rescue.

Instead the Wave Knight collected the couple's yacht, the Lynn Rival, and returned it to Britain.

The 24,000 tonne Kota Wajar, with a multi-national crew of 21, had been hijacked by pirates on 15th October while it was sailing towards Mombasa in Kenya. It was around 250 nautical miles north of the Seychelles at the time. It was only a week

Chandlers surrounded by Somalis as they give television interview to plead for release - .. .

later that the Chandlers were hijacked and taken on board the ship.

Since then the Chandlers have been moved from safe house to safe house on land by the pirates, who fear a gang of fundamentalist Islamists want to 'steal' the Chandlers from them, when their fate would be potentially much worse. Paul Chandler has made a number of appeals through the British media for the British Government to begin negotiations with the pirates.

The knowledge that this ship is free is expected to put further pressure on the British Government to negotiate with the pirates, something they have resisted from the beginning.

Canadian ship to the assistance of Kota Wajar:
Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Fredericton rendered assistance to the Kota Wajar on its release.

On Monday afternoon local time HMCS Fredericton received information that the ransom for the ship had been paid to the pirates onboard the ship and that it would be soon released from captivity. HMCS Fredericton, as the closest NATO or Coalition warship to the ship, was ordered to close the vessels position and render what medical and technical assistance she could to help the crew commence their journey away from their captors.

'It was very fortunate that we were in close proximity to the KOTA WAJAR and able to act as fast as we could to provide them assistance as they cleared Somali waters' said Commander Steve Waddell, Commanding Officer of HMCS Fredericton. 'As my team prepared for the mission, it helped to understand the plight that this crew just endured and that we could offer just a little bit of humanity to them'.

Once the ship's Captain requested assistance, Fredericton's Naval Boarding Party assembled their experts, including a medical specialist, and headed towards the vessel. 'We didn't know what to expect, whether there were remaining pirates onboard, what condition the crew was or how we would be perceived,' indicated the Naval Boarding Party Officer. 'But we are trained for these scenarios and take every precaution to ensure the team's and the Motor Vessel's crew's safety.'

Once onboard, the Naval Boarding Party conducted a security sweep and verified that all the pirates had left. The medical specialist then assessed all 21 crew members onboard and declared them in good health. With the vessel physically and technically able to sail to a safe port of call, the Naval Boarding Party provided the crew with fresh food and bottled water and departed the vessel.

Said Cmdr Waddell 'If anyone ever needed a reason to understand why Fredericton is here, it was made clear today with this vessel - no law abiding sailor should ever have to endure what these men have endured.'

by Sail-World Cruising round-up