29.5.11

Jih Chun Tsai No. 68: USN Frigate kills pirates





Wu Lai-yu, captain of the Jih Chun Tsai No. 68, died on May 20 during an exchange of fire between the long liner, which was used by the pirates as a mother ship, and the USS Stephen W. Groves in the Indian Ocean.

The death surprised Wu's family, who had reached a ransom deal in late April with the pirates following a painstaking negotiation that lasted more than a year.

The pirates agreed to release Wu and the 79-tonne vessel in one month upon receiving the ransom. The amount of the ransom is not clear, but it was less than the US$8 million the pirates originally demanded.

Wu's wife said Sunday through Tsai Pao-hsing, secretary-general of the Liouciou Fishery Association, that Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs should help seek compensation from the U.S.

The wife complained that the U.S. troops saved two Chinese crew members, but allowed Wu's body to sink along with the fishing ship rather than retrieve it for the family.
The 80-tonne Jih-chun Tsai 68 with captain Wu Lai-yu and 10 Indonesian crew was hijacked in March 2010 while sailing in waters off Somalia.

Three pirates killed.

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