DAMMAM: The father of a Saudi sailor on board the hijacked Saudi Aramco supertanker Sirius Star is optimistic his son will return home safely.
“I have a feeling that my son will come back. The assurances given to us by the Saudi authorities have given us great relief,” said Musa Al-Hamza, father of Hussein Al-Hamza, a 24-year-old Saudi sailor on board the ship.
“I do not deny our worries over his fate. However, the assurances given by Saudi officials have greatly reduced these worries,” he told Arab News.
Al-Hamza said officials have been in constant contact with him and his family, briefing them of new developments. “I am following the news on TV, and hope my son and the rest of the hostages on board would be released soon,” he said.
Eastern Province Gov. Prince Muhammad bin Fahd has spoken to Al-Hamza over the telephone, assuring him that the Kingdom is taking the issue seriously and closely following developments. The governor prayed that Hussein would soon return home safely. Al-Hamza expressed thanks to Prince Muhammad for his concern.
Hussein’s mother said she came to know about the hijacking on Saturday. “We received a telephone call from Vela, the shipping arm of Aramco, assuring us of our son’s safety and telling us that they were keen about his safe return and also that of his colleagues,” she said.
Hussein’s family said Hussein has been in love with the sea from a young age and worked as a sailor in spite of his family’s reservations. Although Hussein secured a place in Riyadh’s King Saud University when completed his school education six years ago, he left the university to join the Technical College in Dammam where he studied for two years.
He worked for the Saudi Company for Maritime Services where he would spend seven days at sea and three days with his family. He then joined Vela International.
On his own personal account, Hussein attended a number of maritime training courses, including a course at the Naval College in Cairo in addition to Prince Muhammad bin Fahd’s program to develop the skills of young Saudis.
Hussein had traveled to Holland previously with Vela and was on his way to America when Somali pirates captured the Sirius Star. Hussein is the oldest of 10 siblings.
