Stolt Valor crew back home

Stolt Valor crew back home
Recounts The Days Of Horror
Preetu Nair | TNN

Panaji: As 25-year-old Allister Fernandes stepped foot into his house in Cuncolim on Monday afternoon, he saw the placard welcoming him home. The heartwarming scene told a story of pain, grief and ultimately, that of relief and elation. It was an emotional reunion—for the family as well as the villagers who stood by them in their moment of grief and pain—celebrated with cakes and songs.
“I am happy to be home and so loved,” said an exuberant Allister, hugging his family and friends. “I realise now how uncertain life is,” he said after reaching Goa along with fellow crew member Isidore Fernandes from Raia.
“On September 15 morning when we had reached the Gulf of Aden, I was pleased at the thought that within five days I would be back home in Cuncolim, attending my cousin’s wedding. Little did I know that by afternoon, we would be captured by pirates.”
Allister worked as a steward in the Japanese-owned chemical tanker MV Stolt Valor, which with 22 crew members, including 18 Indians, was hijacked by a Somali pirates off the Yemen coast while it was bound for Mumbai from the Suez Canal. The ship was released on November 16. Allister along with four other members of the ship arrived from Muscat in Mumbai on Monday. The rest of the Indian crew, including the captain of the ship, are likely to arrive on Tuesday.

‘Guns were trained on us everyday’
Panaji: Allister Fernandes, who was on a nine-month contract on the MV Stolt Valor that was hijacked by Somali pirates, told TOI on Monday, “The pirates were armed with machine guns and we meekly surrendered to them as we had no weapons or experience in tackling pirates. A Somalian interpreter told us that we have been held hostage and would be released only after the ship’s owner paid the ransom. We were scared, but in our hearts we knew that they wouldn’t harm or kill us as their only motive was getting the money.”
“It was terrifying. The guns were trained on us every hour of the day. We had to take permission from them for everything and they stole our our stuff—gizmos, money and even clothes,” he said.
Allister admits that he suffers from panic attacks and sleepless nights with the horror of the past 2 months still haunting him.
The horror of his experiences are echoed in 29-year-old Isidore Fernandes’s recollection of the events aboard the ship. “We were forced to sleep on the floor of the narrow bridge. But we couldn’t sleep. The moment we closed our eyes, we would hear gun shots,” says the head cook, who hails from Raia.
“At first they allowed us to speak to our families, but after October 14 we were not allowed to contact them. It all appeared a deliberate attempt to scare us,” said Isidore.
A fun-loving person, Isidore recollected that he sometimes tried to joke with the Somalian cook who worked with him in the kitchen for the pirates. “He was very dirty and unhygienic. I wanted to ask him to clean up the kitchen but was scared to do so. They didn’t like Indian food as they found it spicy,” said Isidore. He admits that provisions were a problem. “The ration was for a month but we were stuck for two months. There was neither enough masalas or vegetables, but we managed and everybody ate to survive without complaining.”
The crew members had their anxious moments too. Like the time when the negotiations wouldn’t work, or when the booty was dropped from a jet in a parachute and the bag filled with money landed in water. “There was a wave of panic when the pirates didn’t leave the ship immediately as promised after they got the ransom money,” recalls Allister. They left 12 hours later after rounds of quarrels over the distribution of the money. “We began feeling safe only after reaching Muscat,” said Allister.
But duo said even in adversity lay some opportunities—the crew members became close friends. “I learnt to speak better Hindi. We used to play cards and talk about our families. It used to make us feel better. From strangers on the ship, we became good friends,” said Isidore.
The duo admits that while they’ll never forget the last 2 months, the experience won’t stop them from venturing into the sea again. “Life will go on,” said Allister.

25 November,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition