A South African yachtsman who was held captive with his crew for days after pirates hijacked his yacht off the Kenyan coast has been rescued by a European warship and was taken to Nairobi yesterday.
But two others who had been on board the yacht are still being held hostage on the mainland in Somalia.
The South African couple, Bruno Pelizzari and his girlfriend Deborah, who had lived on the Bluff in Durban until they set sail for Madagascar a year ago, were on board the hijacked yacht which was headed back to Richards Bay from Dar es Salaam. They were said to have been with the skipper, a man named Peter.
Pelizzari’s family, distraught at the news and fearing for his safety, confirmed yesterday that the two were still captive in Somalia. They and authorities from the Department of International Relations and Co-operation say Peter, a South African, who refused to disembark the yacht during the hijacking, was safe in custody in Nairobi. He had been transported by a Dutch naval ship. The yacht had been hijacked on November 1.
International Relations and Co-operation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane confirmed two South Africans were abducted and a third was under the protection of officials of the SA High Commission in Nairobi.
“The Department is rendering consular assistance. We conveyed our thoughts and prayers to the families during this trying time,” she said.
Although there were earlier reports of a man being shot and a child and a woman taken hostage into a jungle, Pelizzari’s family members and government authorities say this is not true. Pelizzari, a South African of Italian descent, however, has been described as being a small man, so it could have been assumed that a child was kidnapped.
The family is frustrated at not being able to get detailed information on Pelizzari’s welfare, and is deeply concerned for his safety.
Vera Pelizzari, Bruno’s sister, was emotional last night as she feared releasing information which could jeopardise his safety. But she was also worried about information being stifled and her brother’s plight then not being properly attended to.
“Everything is still so fresh, and they (authorities) haven’t even made contact yet to start negotiations, so we do not want to hamper any deals which may be reached,” she said, adding that incorrect media reports and subsequent hype was “making it worse for us” and possibly placing her younger brother’s safety at risk. “We simply do not have the money to pay for ransom.”
Although there has not been any talk yet of ransom or negotiation proceedings, the family is bracing themselves for the possibility. Until then, they are desperately trying to assist the department in ensuring Bruno is released.
Barry Turner, commodore at the Bluff Yacht Club where the couple were members before heading off on their voyage, said both were “quiet” people. He described Bruno as “an IT boff” and a member of the club for five or six years.
He said they had set off for Madagascar, but were assisting another yachtsman in bringing a vessel back to Richard’s Bay.
The trio were said to have departed from Dar es Salaam on October 21.
Details of the hijacking are sketchy, but it appears that once the yacht had been hijacked off the Kenyan coast, the pirates forced the crew to sail it to Baraawe in Somalia.
It was spotted near Baraawe on Saturday by the EU Navfor French warship, the FS Floreal. The EU Navfor – which is tasked to protect merchant vessels carrying aid to Somalia, and also deters and disrupts piracy in the region – said on its website yesterday that the yacht had been seen “sailing suspiciously close to shore”.
“Despite numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact the yacht, including a fly-past by the ship’s helicopter, no answer was received, and the French warship launched her boarding team to investigate further. Upon approaching, the team came under fire from the yacht and a Mayday call was received, making it clear pirates were on board and the crew of three were under their control,” the EU Navfor said.
The warship stayed nearby the pirated vessel. Early on Sunday the yacht ran aground.
“As a result of the grounding, the pirates attempted to remove the three crew members ashore. The South African skipper of the yacht refused to leave his vessel and the pirates left with the remaining two crew members as hostages. Once the pirates had left, the skipper was rescued by the warship FS Floreal,” the EU Navfor said.
Sources also say that Bruno and Deborah “walked” with the pirates from the ship, so at that stage they appeared to have been unharmed.
“The whereabouts of the other crew members is currently unknown, despite a comprehensive search by an EU Navfor helicopter,” the EU Navfor said.
Andrew Mwangura, co-ordinator of the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme, said he assumed the yacht had been towed to Mombasa.
“It is the scene of a crime, so it will be investigated,” he said.
Asked why the yacht had been drifting so close inshore, Mwangura said: “I think the pirates were looking for a place to hide.”
Mwangura said since September 28 there had been 16 pirate attacks on vessels off the coast of Kenya and Tanzania.
“Of these five were hijacked: a tanker, a cargo ship, a container ship, a fishing vessel and the yacht. The pirates operating off our coast are the same pirates operating off Somalia. They do it for commercial gain,” he said.
Karl Otto of the Maritime Rescue Co-ordinating Centre in Cape Town said yesterday that the Department of International Relations and Co-operation was handling the hostage situation.
“They’ve got a couple of people who may be negotiating. We’ve been told to pass on any information to them,” Otto said.
Asked if the pirates were demanding ransom, Otto said: “I’ve not heard of a figure yet, but that’s the name of the game.”
l In recent years Somali pirates have captured yachts from Germany, France and the UK. The British case involved Paul and Rachel Chandler, who were hijacked more than a year ago off Seychelles. They remain captive, along with several hundred other foreign sailors.
The pirates’ aim is to extract ransoms, which can be huge. On Saturday, a pirate gang claimed to have received a record $9.5m (R65m) to release the Samho Dream, a South Korean oil supertanker captured in April.
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