Diplomatic efforts to secure Lankan engineer's release

KENYA: The Government has intensified diplomatic efforts to secure the release of Sydney Rodrigo, a Sri Lankan marine engineer whose ship M.V. Julia had been hijacked in Somali waters.

Rodrigo, along with the rest of the crew members including six Somalis, one Tanzanian and one Indian, are being held in a house at an unknown location in Somalia, around 250 kms away from the ship.

The hijackers are reportedly demanding a ransom of US$ 100,000, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

The Sri Lanka High Commissioner in Kenya who has contacted Rodrigo over the phone has informed that he is safe and in good health. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in contact with Rodrigo's family and the owners of the vessel, Al Nerm Shipping Company of Salalah, Sultanate of Oman.

The Sri Lanka Missions in Nairobi, Kenya and Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, are continuing their efforts to secure Rodrigo's release.Rodrigo is the third Sri Lankan to be held by Somali hijackers in six months.

Given the frequency of hijacking of merchant vessels in Somali waters, the Ministry of Ports and Shipping, on the advice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, cautioned Sri Lankan merchant seafarers in October 2005 to be aware of risks involved before seeking employment with companies that ply ships off the Somali coast.