Three Indians taken hostage by pirates off Kenyan coast

New Delhi, Jan 16 (PTI) With the Stolt Valor hostage
drama involving Indians still fresh, another ship with three
Indians on board has been hijacked by pirates off the coast of
Kenya and the Navy said it will take "all action" to secure
their release.

The Kenyan fishing vessel M V Alpha Manyara has an
Indian captain and an engineer besides another Indian crew on
board and was hijacked on January 9, according to relatives of
the sailors taken hostage.

"I am not aware if there were any Kenyans on board but
according to the reports, which I have seen, the boat had an
Indian captain, an engineer and one more person and there may
be some other fishermen," Indian navy chief Admiral Sureesh
Mehta told reporters here.

Giving details, he said the incident took place "well
outside the Gulf... it is fishing boat, which has been
operating as a Kenyan fishing boat for many months."

He said Indian ships deployed in the Gulf of Aden did
not go for patrolling near the Kenyan coast.

"There is no patrolling that goes so far south and
Kenya has always been well out of the Arabian gulf region,"
Mehta said during his visit to the annual NCC Republic Day
Camp.

George, brother of one of the hostage Palaswamy
Sarvanan, who hails from southern state of Tamil Nadu, said
the pirates were holding three Indians hostage after setting
free eight Kenyan sailors.

"We were informed about the incident a day after the
vessel was hijacked. After that, we have not heard from the
company or the government. The company has declined to pay any
ransom," he claimed.

Stolt Valor, owned by a Japanese company and carrying
18 Indian sailors, was released on November 16 by the Somalian
pirates after a huge ransom was paid by the owners.

A brother-in-law of Sarvanan said in Visakhapatnam
that the last call they got from the sailor was on December
18.

Benoji, a family friend of Sebasitan Antony, one of
the captives from Kottayam district in southern state of
Kerala, said Antony's family came to know about the hijacking
two days back from a Keralite working in a shipping firm. The
third hostage is Thresia Fernando who hails from Dindigul in
Tamil Nadu.

Though Antony's relations contacted company
authorities, they were reluctant to provide the exact details,
Benoji said.

According to Sebastian's relatives, the pirates have
demanded a huge sum as ransom for the Indians' release.

Sebastian's brother, Bobby, said that he had sought
urgent intervention of the Indian Government for release of
the three captives. He had faxed the request to the offices of
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister A K Antony,
he said in Thiruvananthapuram.

Sebastian has been working as a plant engineer with
Alfa Group in Kenya, which owns the vessel, for the last nine
years, according to Benoji.His wife Tessy and two daughters
are now home at Changanassery in Kerala. PTI team
PMR