The released Faina sailors have returned home and are now in the company of their relatives. Most of the crew members are residents of Odesa. One of the seamen, assistant captain Oleksandr PRYSUKHA has agreed to tell The Day about what happened on the ship during the captivity. To him the four-month sojourn on board Faina brought unique experience.
What were the relations between the crew and the pirates after the ship was seized?
“Everything was very complicated at the beginning. The leadership — the captain, his senior assistant, and yours truly — were staying on the command bridge. The other 17 members of the crew were staying in one cabin. We were able to have only very little contact with them. During the first month of captivity the pirates were aggressive to us. They expected to get the ransom in a short while, and when things were moving too slowly, they looked very nervous. These people are accustomed to dynamics and war. And here they had to wait and remain passive. Therefore we felt their aggression all the time.
“We communicated with them every day. Initially, there was incredible pressure on the three persons from the crew leadership. They threatened us. Later we got used to each other and started to speak about abstract topics, as they say. Only two pirates could speak English. One of them, Mohammad, was the head of the group. We spoke mainly with him. The pirates told us a lot about their country. Among them were people of different ages, both young and old. They said that the war had been going on for twenty years. Many families had lost their relatives in internecine conflicts.”
How difficult was it for the crew to stay far from home? Did you get any news from your families?
“Various things happened while we were staying on board of the ship. There were conflicts between the members of the crew, but in general, the situation united us. We had limited communication with each other. I, for one, did not hear anything from home, and I didn’t talk with my relatives. I was very nervous for this reason. After a month of waiting the pirates started to get nervous, too. When they understood that nothing was being done for buyout, they said, Do whatever you want, but we must get the money. We transmitted information about us to Times and other periodicals via the shipborne station. The pirates checked the information.”
You had plenty of free time on board. What did you do to keep yourself busy with something and get distracted from your worries?
“They didn’t allow us to do much during the first month. We spoke with each other when we could. Of course, we spoke with the pirates as well. Everyone was reading a lot. I must have read all the books that were on board, even those that it is impossible to read, books by Dontsova and Marinina, for example. I don’t understand this sort of literature in principle. But I had to do this under those circumstances. I have read interesting books, like the biographies of Stalin and Beriya. We were allowed to listen to the Somalian radio. It was difficult to stay without any motion. After 1.5 month they allowed us to do some exercises, with weights and dumbbells. At the administration’s request the members of the crew were allowed to go for walk on the deck. The pirates were doing this with reluctance, because they had to post the guards and watch us. The guys did pull-ups and push-ups.”
Every situation has its best and worst moments. For sure, the captivity is no exception.
“Many people were impressed with the captain’s death, pirates in particular. He complained about the pain in his heart several days before the seizure. He was going to undergo an examination in Kenya. But he didn’t have time. I was very much surprised that some journalists were writing about things they didn’t know. For example, they wrote that there was a shooting and nearly a riot on the ship. I understood that my family — my son and my wife — were monitoring this information. And I felt totally sad, mildly speaking. Why would they do this? And the happiest moment for me was to see that money from the plane was dropped into the water in two capsules attached to parachutes. I understood that we would soon be free. That’s how it indeed happened. Then there was Kenya, a plane to Kyiv, family, and Odesa.”
Do you maintain contacts with your colleagues?
“Of course, I do. In late February the management of the Tomex company will gather us to discuss the topic of reward. So we will have time to see each other. And I want to see them. Especially I want to see Viktor Nikolsky, who, after the death of our captain, assumed his duties. Now he is in St. Petersburg. To a large extent it was thanks to him that our captivity was relatively smooth. He had to undertake the whole responsibility and ease the tension between the pirates and us. We will surely meet here with him and our guys. It will be better to meet here, in Odesa. The whole crew is mainly located here.”
Are you planning the next voyage?
“At first I must get rest. Then I will go to sea, of course.”
