Pirates seek millions of dollars to release the ships and crews they hijack off the coast of East Africa. The pirates have made such hostage videos before, but rarely, if ever, are the videos posted on YouTube.
One of the Danish crew members, Soeren Lyngbjoern, is seen asking for the government and company to help free the crew, which was taken Jan. 12. A pirate holding the camera asks questions while three masked men holding weapons stand in the background.
Lyngbjoern said the crew are often afraid, and that he is suffering health problems. An imprint on the video indicates it was shot last Thursday, though The Associated Press could not independently authenticate the tape or when it was shot.
“I don’t think I live for much more,” he said in a shaky voice that sometimes cracks with emotion.
Pirates hijacked the Danish cargo ship MV Leopard in the Arabian Sea between Yemen and Somalia. Its crew consists of four Filipinos and two Danes and is operated by the shipping company Shipcraft. Six men are seen in the video, which was shot outdoors near brush.
A second hostage seen in the videos says the Leopard was carrying military equipment.
Shipcraft said in a statement Tuesday that speculation in the Danish press that the company has not been working toward the release of the hostages is not true.
“Shipcraft has since January — and with the advice from renowned security advisers and in close consultation with all relevant parties, among others the appropriate authorities — been negotiating for the fastest possible release of our crew,” the company said, adding that it could not share details because it could have a negative impact on the dealings.
Shipcraft said that the crew is “under unbelievable pressure, mentally as well as physically.”
The group that posted the videos, Save our Seafarers, describes itself as one of the biggest maritime industry groups, 25 maritime organizations that joined together to raise awareness of the human and economic cost of piracy.
A spokesman for Save Our Seafarers said he couldn’t immediately comment on the posting but would gather information and speak later.
Pirates have been holding hostages longer in apparent hopes of winning higher ransoms. The average ransom is now around $5 million.
A spokesman for the EU Naval Force, an anti-piracy force, said the group’s records show that pirates hold 19 ships and 417 hostages.
In other piracy developments, officials responsible for a small Emirati oil tanker hijacked Saturday said they have lost contact with the ship but are hopeful it will be released soon.
Omar Al-Khair, general manager of the Emirates International Shipping, the vessel’s manager, told The Associated Press there were 17 crew on board the United Arab Emirates-flagged MV Jubba XX. Besides the Sri Lankan captain, he said crew members were from India, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Sudan, Bangladesh and Somalia.
“I’m expecting it to get released easy ... because there are Somalis” on board, he said. There have been no demands for ransom yet, he said.
The tanker was carrying between 3,500 to 4,000 tons of refined fuel when it was hijacked, said Ali Alawi, operations coordinator at Jubba General Trading Co., the ship’s Emirati owner. It was headed from the Emirati city of Umm Al-Quwain to the Somali port of Berbera.
Al-Khair said the companies last had contact with a crew member by satellite phone shortly after the hijacking Saturday off the coast of Mukalla, Yemen. They have been unable to reach them by since.
