Pirates kill four aboard ship in North Aceh

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan, North Sumatra

Pirates shot dead four crew members of a ship in waters off North Aceh, after a palm oil company failed to pay the gunmen a Rp 400 million (US$47,616) ransom, police said on Thursday.

The bodies of the victims -- Nana Sutrisna, 35, Harianto Ginting, 30, Ahmad Yani, 28, and Nikolas Rentowuwu, 34 -- were taken home on Thursday in Belawan, North Sumatra, a day after being found by residents in Peureulak village, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.

"I'm heartbroken that pirates killed my son. What did he do to them? It's extremely savage behavior. I hope the police capture them," Yani's father Syamsuddin said in tears at his home in Belawan.

Syamsuddin said he received the news about the death of his son from Peurelak Police chief First Insp. Dedi.

Dedi told Syamsuddin that Yani and his three colleagues were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in waters off Aceh because the company that owned the cargo on the tanker ship, PT Musim Mas, did not pay the ransom demanded by pirates.

Survivor Juber Tambah, who escaped the ship, said armed pirates seized his ship MT Cherry-201 on Jan. 5, while sailing in Aceh waters to Belawan Port. It was loaded with 1,000 tons of crude palm oil belonging to PT Musim Mas.

The gunmen then took 13 people hostage but released the captain, Moris Sinaga, so he could convey their demands for a ransom of Rp 400 million to company management in Belawan.

Juber said the company later made direct contact with the pirates, who reiterated their demands for Rp 400 million to free the 12 hostages.

PT Musim Mas later bargained with the gunmen to reduce the ransom and the pirates agreed to decrease the amount to Rp 100 million.

But, the company renegotiated again, saying it could only afford to pay the pirates Rp 70 million and promising to send the ransom immediately, he said.

However, the gunmen lost patience after waiting for one month without being paid.

They shot dead four crew members, Juber said. He and eight other hostages jumped overboard to escape.

The four crew were killed also because they defied their captors' orders to drive the ship away from security officers, he said.

It was not clear when PT Musim Mas management had reported the matter to police. Company executives could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

North Sumatra water police senior offer Adj. Comr. Ikhwan confirmed the deaths and said security forces were hunting the culprits.

"We are investigating the case," he said.