Food, Drink Scarce On Pirate-Seized Italian Ship Carrying Romanian Sailors

The Buccaneer, with a crew of 16 people – ten Italians, five Romanians and one Croatian – was seized by pirates on April 11 in the Gulf of Aden and is currently anchored off the coast of Lasqorey village, 110 kilometers west of Bosasso port, the economic capital of Somali region Puntland.

One crew member, Italian Giovanni Vollaro, managed to call his family and told relatives about the difficult situation the crew is facing.

"We are living on half a liter of water a day and no one is doing anything to save us. There is talk of negotiations, but nothing is happening. We are exhausted. We bathe in sea water, because it’s 50 degrees Celsius out here. We can’t keep this up much longer. We are worried because we eat very little and drink just half a liter of water per day. No one is doing anything for us,” the Italian sailor said.

According to the ilFatto.net website, six of the 16 crew members are alleged to have been moved by the pirates in a village near the coast.

The 48-hour ultimatum given by the pirates for the start of negotiations expired Friday. Pirates warned Wednesday that “something bad” would happen if Italian authorities don’t start concrete negotiations within 48 hours.

On April 24, Somali pirates had given a first ultimatum, threatening to kill the 16 crew members, including five Romanians.

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