Key facts
- Four Indonesian seamen returned home Tuesday after being held by Somali pirates for over five months.
- They were among 17 crew rescued a week ago when Puntland maritime police stormed the MT Honour 25 tanker.
- The tanker was hijacked in April.
- Five other crew members were killed during the hijacking.
Four Indonesian seamen returned home on Tuesday after being held hostage by Somali pirates for more than five months aboard the oil tanker MT Honour 25. They were among 17 crew members rescued a week prior when maritime police from Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland stormed the vessel, which had been hijacked in April. According to a Puntland police statement, five other crew members – three Pakistanis, an Indian, and a Myanmar national – were killed by the pirates before the rescue could take place.
At Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, the four Indonesians were received by their families and officials, including Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir. Nasir thanked the ship's Indonesian skipper, Ashari Samadikun, for ensuring the surviving crew members remained safe during the rescue and expressed gratitude to the families for their patience. Skipper Samadikun expressed regret over the deaths of the five crew members.