Do you wonder what it was like to be a hostage on the Sirius Star? I certainly did... Read the following account from Chief Engineer Peter French.
I thought I was going to be executed, says Briton taken hostage by Somali pirates on oil supertanker.
A Briton taken hostage on an oil supertanker relived his 57-day ordeal at the hands of Somali pirates last night - and spoke of the moment he feared he would be executed.
Chief engineer Peter French, 45, and the 25-man crew of the Sirius Star - the largest ship ever to be hijacked - were rounded up by gunmen who had already warned them: 'If they try to rescue you we will shoot you all.'
He recalls: 'They saw flashing lights in the distance and thought it was special forces coming to storm the ship.
'They were running around shouting and screaming and waving AK47 rifles around. What they saw was from a lighthouse - but it took the captain ages to convince them. We were frightened.'
Crew member Peter French was convinced the heavily armed pirates were going to kill him
Speaking exclusively to The Mail on Sunday, Peter, now home with his wife Hazel, 42, in County Durham, recalled that his 18-year-old daughter Amy sent him a text the night before the ship was hijacked saying: 'Watch out for pirates, Dad!'
He said: 'I responded, saying that we were in safe waters, which I thought was the case. Unbeknown to me we were probably being watched at that very moment.'
The ship was stormed by eight pirates on November 15 last year. Peter and James Grady, the Second Officer, were the only British crew members. The 1,080ft Saudi vessel, worth £100million, was on its way to the Caribbean with two million barrels of oil bound for the United States.
The ship was stormed by eight pirates on November 15 last year. Peter and James Grady, the Second Officer, were the only British crew members. The 1,080ft Saudi vessel, worth £100million, was on its way to the Caribbean with two million barrels of oil bound for the United States.
They were only released after bosses at Peter's Saudi company, Aramco, paid a £2million ransom, which was dropped into the sea by an aircraft. The ship was 450 miles south east of Kenya when the pirates struck.
Peter recalls the day began as normal with a briefing for the five senior officers, led by a Polish captain, Marek Niski. Everyone remarked on the 'exceptionally beautiful day, no wind and the sea like a millpond'.
Suddenly they were interrupted by a phone call from the Third Mate, who said: 'Captain, there appears to be something following us.' Two small dinghies were visible in the distance, closing fast. At first the crew were not sure if they were fishermen, but it became quickly apparent that they were being shadowed.
'It was obvious we were being menaced by pirates and I went down to the engine room to increase speed while Marek ordered the Filipino crew to man the fire hoses. Jets of water were our only defence.
'Very quickly a speedboat came alongside and the pirates flung a long ladder with a hook over the guard rail. The lower deck was around 12ft off sea level. They shimmied up the ladder and on to the deck, they were armed with AK47s and rocketpropelled grenades.
'Marek had already stood down the crew members with the fire hoses. After all what can a water hose do against a rifle?'
'I was in the engine room and gathered the boys together. We shut all the doors.'
'I was still in contact with the captain who told me, "Peter, we have armed men on deck". Everyone kept calm but we were obviously nervous. At sea s*** happens quite a lot and we deal with it - but never quite like this.'
While Peter was below deck one of the pirates made for the locked bridge and fired a single shot in the air, motioning to the captain to open the door.
He was ordered to stop the ship. 'But Marek kept his cool and told them he couldn't stop the engines immediately, for fear of damage, they would have to slow down gradually. He was slowing down the pirates with his own agenda. He was doing everything they asked but in his own time.
'They looked a motley crew, some wearing trousers and cheap shirts and sandals while others were barefoot in sarongs.'
'This wasn't exactly Pirates Of The Caribbean. Most of the time they were high from chewing drugs. This made them docile, which we liked. It was when they ran out that they got excitable.
'They immediately demanded, of all things, safety shoes --because they were worried about their feet on the deck - and they also asked for cigarettes. We gave them Marlboros.'
The crew were ordered to lift the pirates' two boats and fuel barge on to the deck by crane.'
Marek had been ordered to turn around and head to Somalia.
'I changed the maximum speed on the ship's telegraph so it looked like we were going full speed ahead, but really we were going much slower. We wanted to arrive in Somalia in daylight.'
Along with guns and grenades the pirates took goats on board when they hijacked the ship and demanded a ransom
At one stage on the first day the captain was led at gunpoint to his office and ordered to open the safe, which contained £4,000 cash. Later the pirates searched each cabin in turn, surprising the crew with their politeness.
'They said, "Good morning - can we look around" and opened and closed drawers carefully, taking what they wanted. We had already stashed our valuables in the engine room in tool boxes but we left a bit of money and odd things. We decided to let them have something. The whole thing was surreal.' Back home, Hazel had been told by her husband's company that he had been taken hostage.
She recalls: 'I was dumbstruck, it was a heck of a shock and I burst into tears.'
Eight hours later Peter managed to ring her briefly from the ship's phone. 'I knew it was the ship to shore because of the familiar delay. I burst into tears and heard Peter saying, "I'm OK, I'm OK. I love you". I told him don't do anything daft, make sure the boys are OK and take care.'
They would only speak again twice before he was released.
'It got a lot more tense and we didn't get the chance. Our mobiles weren't working. By now we were six miles off the coast of Somalia,' said Peter.
Once anchored, tensions eased marginally and negotiations between the pirates and the shipping company began in earnest.
The crew settled into a daily routine, carrying on as normal in 'true stiff upper lip fashion'.
'We kept our distance from the pirates who would patrol the boat posturing with their guns. Sometimes they would hold handguns to the heads of some of the crew, mainly Filipinos. I had little to do with them, although one of them came to my cabin one day and repeated that if there was a rescue attempt they would blow up the ship and kill us.
'They were twitchiest at night, when they feared a rescue attempt. Some would sleep on the deck while others roamed around. The worst night was when they were spooked by the lighthouse.
Some new gunmen had come aboard and there were now about 25 of them. It was 9.30pm and I was in my cabin but I could hear the noise of men running around and shouting.
We were rounded up at one end of the bridge and told to sit down. They decided they were being attacked and looked desperate. We were convinced someone was going to be injured or worse.
'Marek was trying to calm them, pointing out that it was a lighthouse. They weren't very professional. Eventually he persuaded a fat Somalian who spoke English that there was nothing on the radar. It calmed down but for a long time we thought someone was going to get killed.'
After this, relations deteriorated. 'They picked on the Filipinos and were more aggressive in searching.'
While the crew had enough food and water, the pirates preferred their own fare - live goats from the shore, which they slaughtered on deck.
'They would bring them on two at a time and after killing them they'd sling them over their shoulders and take them down to the cook who would make a goat curry.'
'There was always an untethered goat or two roaming around the deck.'
'Ironically, for pirates they weren't particularly hard - they were always pestering the chief officer, who controlled the medicines, for tablets for headaches, stomach pains and colds.'
'They also had a strange approach to thieving. They gave back some Fillipino cash to one of the poorest crew members after someone pointed out, "He doesn't have much money, he's like you." On another occasion they ordered the Third Officer to give them his expensive watch and gave him a cheap imitation one in return --that they'd stolen from someone else.'
'They came back the next day and made him adjust the good watch to Somali time as they couldn't work it.'
'One pirate complained to the captain-that a coat he stole was too big and that he wanted another one.'
'It was clear they had scant regard for human life. When one of the pirates accidentally shot himself in the arm they gave him no help. We bandaged him up and said he needed to get ashore, but they wouldn't let him.'
By Christmas there was no sign of a deal. 'The day itself was pretty awful. We were thinking constantly of our homes and families. We shared a box of chocolate biscuits and later turkey but it was pretty sombre. The only treat came when we were allowed on deck for the first time to go fishing. We caught snapper and grouper.
'We asked to ring home on Christmas Day but they wouldn't let us. It was disappointing, but we weren't going to beg them. Not for that or anything. They would play on that weakness.'
Negotiations, often tense, continued daily between the pirates and the shipping company. The crew sensed a breakthrough on December 27.
'Their attitude changed. They seemed more relaxed and happy and we were allowed to phone home.' By January 3 the deal was struck. A few days later the entire crew were assembled on deck so they could be counted by a pilot in a light aircraft, from which half the cash, in US dollars was dropped by parachute.'
'It was 8am, we were all at one end of the deck and the pirates were hiding under the pipes. The pilot did a once round fly-past then gained speed and the parachute dropped.'
'It was a pink capsule which landed out at sea. The pirates picked it up in their boat. Marek was taken to the main pirate's cabin where he helped count it. The rest of the cash came in another drop six hours later.'
The pirates went to the cabin one by one to get their share. By evening the majority had gone, leaving only the senior men. We were getting excited about the prospect of leaving but then one boat load of pirates capsized, drowning five or six, and we feared reprisals.
'I went to bed that night seriously worried. But at 4am Marek phoned me from the bridge and said, "Peter, can you get your engine ready?" And I said, "Marek, that engine has bloody well been ready for 57 days."
'When she fired up, that low thrumming noise was the sweetest sound I'd ever heard.'
The times of the most significant events of that last day are etched in Peter's memory. He remembers the last eight pirates departed at 5.34am and Marek ordered the ship to set sail at 6.42 am.
'I can't remember there being a cheer, but there were smiles. We thought there is a God after all. I rang Hazel. I just said, "Hello, we're free". I was only on for a minute as others were clamouring for the phone.'
The ship headed back to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, from which it had originally set sail.
'The only sticky moment was when we came across some small fishing boats and dhows which made us nervous. We thought of pirates once again.'
The crew were taken ashore on January 20 for medicals before a reunion in the Crown Plaza Hotel in Dubai.
'Hazel was there, but Amy couldn't be there, she was doing A-level exams.'
Hazel said: 'I really didn't know whether Peter would ever be coming home. It could have gone either way. I knew I just had to keep a level head. Staying calm helped me get through.'
Surprisingly, Peter believes arming ships and crews will not stop piracy.
'Once you arm crew the whole game changes. Pirates will step up their own weapons and come aboard all guns blazing. Armed protection of convoys are one way to tackle it.'
Peter received no payment for this interview. Instead, a donation has been made to the British and International Sailors Society and The Seafarer's Centre, Stockton on Tees.
Peter French, pictured here with his wife Hazel
Mail Online: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1127259/I-thought-I-going-executed-says-Briton-taken-hostage-Somali-pirates-oil-supertanker.html