Freed Chinese fisherman tells of time in hell as hostage of pirates
Li Bohai and seven mainland crewmates return home after nearly five years in captivity
A mainland Chinese fisherman has described the “hell” of being held hostage by Somali pirates – including starvation rations and threats of execution – after he and seven crewmates were repatriated following four and a half years in captivity.
“Somalia is a hell that I will never forget for the rest of my live,” Li Bohai, 47, from the southeastern city of Zhoushan in Zhejiang province, told state broadcaster Central China Television.
His nightmare began on March 26, 2012 when their Oman-registered ship Naham3 was hijacked by 14 armed pirates near the Seychelles and some 800km from the Somali coast.
Their Taiwanese captain was shot dead when he tried to resist.
Li, the ship’s chief engineer, was forced to drive the ship towards Somalia and moor near an island. Twenty-eight crew from mainland China, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Southeast Asia stayed on the ship for a year and a half before being transferred crowded tents on land.