Greek Ship with Filipino Crew Hijacked by Somali Pirates (My brother-in-law)
Jolan Besana, my sister-in-law’s husband, is one of the members of the MT Centauri, a Greece-owned cargo ship. Somalian pirates armed with rocket launchers took over the ship, that has a crew of 25 or 26 Filipinos. This happened off the southern coast of Somalia. The cargo is carrying 17,000 tons of salt, and the crew and ship is being held for ransom, with the threat of death.
The pirates hijacked the ship on Wednesday night. My wife’s sister no longer has any more tears left.
The Gulf of Aden- which connects the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean- was the only route the MT Centauri could have made to get back home, and it is one of the world’s busiest waterways (off Mogadishu). The ship had been en route to Kenya to unload the salt.
Piracy continues to be a world wide problem, and the United Nations needs to be more involved to patrol certain waters, especially off Africa’s coast.
Negotiations are taking place between the terrorists and the Greece owned shipping company. International maritime authorities are also involved. The Philippines, which can’t legally give into the demands, have been trying to ban Filipino seamen to work near African coasts. In other words, it’s up to private firms to raise money to get the sailors back. A German firm recently gave $1 million dollars for the release of only 8 sailors.
Somalia has said that the seafarers remain unharmed. Around 80 Filipinos are still being held hostage in Somalia from previous kidnappings.
I happen to know that Jolan always gave food and money to African workers who helped him unload cargo in previous trips, and that he truly has a great and generous heart. He is a sailor because it is the only way he can support his family, as he had great electronic and mechanical skills that makes him a valuable crew member.
I am asking for your prayers for his safe recovery home, as he has 3 children in General Santos City in the Philippines, Jola, Jericho, and Julian. Today is Jolan’s birthday, and it’s heartbreaking a good man is being held captive.
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what can we do? Jesus Christ his wife Susan must be going nuts! i will hope in my heart that Jolan is freed very soon! how does the family get contacted?I find it very
frightening, Dahlia’s uncle was held for ransom and we had a holiday here and we all prayed in a
circle! and then dahlia’s mother ran
screaming into our house: thank you
God! her brother was safe! i feel
so bad for Belle’s family! jolan is
a hard working man who seems to love and care about his wife and his children! Do they realize what
is happening to theie father?
Please keep me informed Damian.i just spoke to Belle and i am sending this e mail anyway. i have
my card with a couple of bucks on it and i will buy us lunch to make here.
Im really sorry, thats ont of the worst things i ever heard.
The world we live in sure is one messed up place.
does the international media pay any attention to this story?
if so that’s good, because it raises the importance of these peoples lives and increaeses the chances of some authoirittes getting involved and getting those people out of there.
At least they are negotiating.
these people who take hostages usually just want money.
Hi RAW,
It’s big news overseas, yes, mostly in the eastern hemisphere.
I am hoping to spread the word here in the United States via this blog.
The UN really needs to step in and do SOMETHING to help governments be assured of safe passage in the world’s oceans.
I am so sorry to read this news. I will say a prayer now.
this is horrible news.wow.my mom and i will pray for him.any updates?
Thanks, guys.
No updates yet.
Jolan had text messaged his wife shortly before the incident. He knew he was going past the hot zone, but reports had said that the pirates were in another place, and it was all clear for them.
So these guys surprised them, and another Somali group did the same to a Hong Kong ship at the same time in another area of the Indian Ocean.
Piracy has always been alive and well, and the world community has no plan to stop these Somali.
It was still the only route to Kenya, where he was to fly back to Manila with all of his kids and wife’s gifts that he picked up in Ukraine and Ethiopia.
Damn, man! This is the kind of stuff I see on television all the time. Piracy is alive and well in this day and age and in countries off of Africa there really is nothing that can be done but to hire mercenaries to protect the ships because weapons are not allowed on vessel in accordance with International Laws. What Bull Shit!
Jenn and I are praying for Jolan and his crew’s safe and speedy return and you, Belle and family while you go through this time of trouble.
Thanks, sir.
Yes, it’s too bad international law bans crew members being able to using weapons to *defend* themselves against a bunch of hoodlums on speed boats and rocket launchers.
Ive been checking out stories on the internet about this incident with great interest,
there’s not a lot of details,
although its being talked about in many different countries,so it is an international incident that more than one country is concerned about.
then I came across this other story, that the somali pirates in that area have also taken a chinese ship shortly after, and now spain is helping out in the hunt sending aircraft to the area.
in my name is a link to one of the stories.
Yes, RAW, it looks like Spain will send a military aircraft to patrol the waters off Somalia, and will observe the pirates’ movements and relay information to the European Union.
How is your wife holding up?
She’s praying and is in contact with her family.