Click to play videoNew Delhi: It's a nerve-wrecking time for the families of Indian crew members who are on board the Japanese tanker Stolt Valor which was hijacked in Somali waters on September 15.
With a day left before the ransom deadline set by the Somalian pirates comes to an end, those back home are hoping against hope.
A month of false assurances and now a 48-hour deadline that ends on Thursday, for Seema Goyal, the wife of Captain P K Goyal, one of the 18 Indian sailors on board the vessel, the fight to secure their release is only getting tougher.
The hijackers have threatened to kill crew members if the $2.5 million ransom is not paid within the deadline.
Seema Goyal says, “It could be a pressure tactic but I don’t trust the hijackers because they are inhumans in human form. They could be nasty, they could do anything.”
Constant pleas with the government haven't worked. They have either shrugged it off or pled helplessness.
Secretary for Shipping, A P V N Sarma says, “There are a lot of other ships, Stolt Valor is just one of them.”
Meanwhile Minister of State for External Affairs, Anand Sharma says, “There are constraints and concerns. We are talking to other government of the region and we do hope and pray that the collective efforts on getting safe release of hostages pay.
The Indian Government claims its hands are tied and it cannot rescue the sailors as it would infringe the territorial integrity of Somalia's waters which means the only apparent solution is for the government to pressurize the Japan-based ship owning company to negotiate with the pirates.
Even the ship owners statement issued on Wednesday comes as little solace.
It says, "The company has heard indirectly that the hijackers of the Stolt Valor have issued an ultimatum, but nothing has been heard from the hijackers' spokesman. Paying enormous sums of money to lawless pirates is in no one's interest except that of hijackers."
However, families like Bijender Malik's, one of the hostages, are determined to fight till the last hour.
Malik’s wife Sushila Malik says, “Till they (government) tell us what they're going to do, we will stay here.”
With time ticking fast and the families running out of options, they are now pinning their hope on a miracle.
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