Captured at 19, Indian sailor survives 43 months with Somali pirates
Aman Kumar Sharma, an Indian merchant navy sailor, recounts his harrowing 43-month captivity by Somali pirates after his ship was hijacked in 2010. He describes the trauma of the experience, including the loss of a friend and his eventual escape in 2014.
Why it matters
This personal account sheds light on the long-term human impact of maritime piracy and the dangers faced by merchant sailors in high-risk zones.
When Aman Kumar Sharma left India in 2010 for his first voyage at sea, he was a 19-year-old from Himachal Pradesh beginning a career in the merchant navy. He could not have imagined that his first assignment would turn into a 43-month ordeal involving armed pirates, brutal torture, the killing of a close friend, months spent in a Somali jungle and a shipwreck that nearly cost him his life.Sharma finally returned to India on June 9, 2014, after escaping captivity with 10 other crew members. Nearly four years after leaving home with hopes of building a career at sea, he returned to his family in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, carrying memories that would take years to process.In a recent interview, Sharma revisited the hijacking of the MV Albedo, the desperate attempts to secure the crew’s release and the escape that brought his ordeal to an end.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in