Click to play videoNew Delhi: After spending two months in the captivity of Somali pirates, captain of hijacked Japanese merchant vessel Stolt Valor M V finally returned home on Tuesday.
Speaking to CNN-IBN, Captain Prabhat Goyal says he owes his freedom to his wife's relentless efforts and insists that a lot still needs to be done in order to sanitise the Gulf of Aden area.
CNN-IBN: Mr Goyal, during your long period of captivity were you sure you that you would see this day someday, that you would be reunited with your family?
Captain Prabhat Goyal: There were many occasions when I felt that it was the end of the world and that I may never get to come back and see my family members again or anybody else for that matter. But I’m fortunate that I’m back with my family members and all of you.
CNN-IBN:You spoke of the physical and mental torture you were put through. What was the worst part of it?
Captain Prabhat Goyal: They did not physically torture any crew member. Of course there was a lot of mental torture. Some people were really undergoing a lot of mental torture. They did not physically torture me to the extent of breakdown, but they used to push me around on the navigating console to help them navigate the ship their, which I resisted.
CNN-IBN: Seema Goyal, we've watched you on television fighting for your husband. How did you explain it all to your children, especially when the news from Aden wasn’t very hopeful? How did you protect them?
Seema Goyal: The TV in every house has made children a lot more aware than they used to be and therefore nowadays they tend to quickly understand the situation at home. Now when I see my girls talking, laughing, smiling and doing all childish things, I feel great because the last two months have been really bad for my daughters. I wasn’t the only who went through the mental trauma and the stress, they too were in the same situation. It’s really commendable that such small children have learnt to handle the media. The PR of the children has improved so much. The girls were really beautiful and they beautifully sailed through this ordeal.
CNN-IBN: So what's next? After everything you've been through, would you feel safe going out there again?
Captain Prabhat Goyal: I’m on a break right now and I generally take breaks of four to six months between assignments. But I would definitely say that the Somalian waters and the Gulf of Aden are neither safe for maritime vessels nor for their crew. The area needs to be sanitized first in order to make it safe for transit. This issue has to be taken up more strongly by the maritime nation and sorted out by the government. On personal level, there is nothing much we can do. The Gulf of Aden obviously cannot be shut down. Over 8000 vessels transit the Gulf of Aden annually and it has very huge, magnanimous, gigantic economic implications for all nations lying both to the east as well as west of the Gulf of Aden. So this problem has to be tackled on war footing and this area needs to be sanitised so maritime sailors feel free. We are just helpless and feel unsafe. At the moment everybody is unsafe. At this point of time I would like to highlight that a Turkish vessel which was captured by the Somalian pirates maybe some three weeks back has three women on board. They are all probably officers’ wives. It’s a very scary situation where the safety and sanctity of the three wives of sailors or officers is in the pirates’ hands.
CNN-IBN: How frequently were you allowed to communicate with your family?
Captain Prabhat Goyal: I was not able to communicate with my son in the last two months. I somehow managed to speak once with my younger daughter and thrice with my older daughter. There was a total blankout after October 17, during which I couldn’t even talk to my wife. I was only involved in my ship, my people, my crew, my vessel and my cargo and negotiations to get them released as soon as possible.
CNN-IBN: Mrs Goyal, Will you allow your husband to go back to the seas again?
Seema Goyal: Difficult situations can be avoided by being cautious. As a wife, I would not like my husband to go back to sea. But keeping his career in mind, that option has to be ruled out. They have to go back to sea.
CNN-IBN: The Indian Navy is now involved in anti-piracy operations. Do you feel safer now?
Captain Prabhat Goyal: It is not the question of whether we feel safe now that the Indian Navy is there. There is a strong presence of other coalition forces, who are patrolling the Gulf of Aden area. So we feel that even though all this is not enough to safeguard maritime vessels at the moment, hopefully the dialogue between the governments will result in some improvement one day.
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