It was PT Samudera Indonesia as the ship`s owner that negotiated with the pirates by coordinating with the government, he said.Depok, W Java (ANTARA News) - Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said the government has never negotiated the amount of ransom with Somalian pirates holding the crew of the Indonesian-registered MV Sinar Kudus.
"I should like to affirm that the government has never negotiated with the pirates," Marty said on the sidelines of a function marking the presentation of honorary doctorate to Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam at University of Indonesia (UI) on Thursday.
It was PT Samudera Indonesia as the ship`s owner that negotiated with the pirates by coordinating with the government, he said. "The ship`s owner has always informed us about the condition of MV Sinar Kudus` crew."
He said the government had kept abreast of developments related to the crew members` safety. "We will continue to work. The sooner (we will act) the better will be."
All the 22 Indonesian sailors were currently in good health, he said. "Based on the information I received two or three days ago, the crew members of MV Sinar Kudus were alright."
He said the government would always act quickly to rescue the sailors who had been taken hostage by the Somalian pirates for a quite long time.
MV Sinar Kudus carrying nickel ore was hijacked by Somalian pirates off the coast of East Africa while on its way to Rotterdam, The Netherlands, last March.
The Somali pirates demanded a US$2.6 million ransom for the release of the ship and crew, but then they raised their ransom demand to US$3.5 million and then again to US$9 million. The shipment itself is valued at US$1.4 trillion.
MV Sinar Kudus is not the first Indonesian-flagged ship hijacked by the pirates. In February 2010, the CakaaraNews (Somali website) reported that the Somali pirates "received the largest ransom of $7.5 million for releasing an Indonesian ship carrying chemicals and its 28 crew".(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
