Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
The desperate families of twelve merchant sailors held captive by Somali pirates on board the hijacked vessel Eureka have launched a fresh wave of public appeals as the ongoing hostage crisis marks its seventieth consecutive day. Family members confirmed that the humanitarian situation on the ship is deteriorating rapidly from bad to worse under brutal tropical conditions.
The commercial cargo vessel was initially boarded and seized by armed Somali pirates on May two, triggering a prolonged international hostage situation. The captured crew includes twelve merchant mariners, eight of whom are Egyptian citizens who remain trapped in a legal and financial deadlock awaiting a decisive sovereign intervention to secure their rescue.
Furious Parent Accuses Corporate Shipowner of Placing Seafarers Lives in Imminent Danger
Engineer Akram Mokhtar, the father of captured Egyptian Captain Moamen, delivered a blistering public statement to Al-Masry Al-Youm condemning the corporate behavior of the vessel’s owner. Mokhtar revealed that the Egyptian businessman, who currently operates his maritime shipping firm out of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, is actively playing games with the lives of the trapped crew.
The shipowner has consistently delayed completing the transaction despite receiving all necessary regulatory clearances from state authorities to transfer a negotiated two-million-dollar ransom payment. Mokhtar revealed that the owner explicitly told the pirates he did not care about the physical safety of the sailors and only prioritized recovering the commercial cargo.
Desperate Voice Messages Expose Horrific Humanitarian Conditions on Board Hijacked Eureka
The captain’s father published an emotional video containing audio recordings and recent photographic footage of the captured crew demonstrating their severe physical suffering on the vessel. The maritime hostages are currently being forced to consume non-potable, contaminated drinking water, causing widespread waterborne illnesses and physical exhaustion across the deck.
The family directly petitioned the presidency to intervene immediately and neutralize the obstinate behavior of the corporate shipping executive to prevent a tragic outcome. The public appeal emphasized that the state must hold the shipowner accountable, as national authorities had already facilitated all legal channels required to finalize the financial release.
