On 8 May 2010, a chemical tanker en route from India to Belgium and valued at USD 25 million was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden by six Somali pirates. The tanker was loaded with benzene and oil valued at USD 12 million and had 22 crew members on board – 19 Indian nationals, one Ukrainian national and two Bangladeshi nationals. The tanker belonged to a shipping company from Niedersachsen, Germany, and sailed under the flag of the Marshall Islands.
Despite the safety precautions taken by the crew, the six pirates were able to seize control of the ship using high-speed boats. The crew tried to fortify themselves but were without success. At gunpoint, the crew were forced to steer the ship to waters off the coast of Somalia. There, the ship was anchored and other heavily-armed pirates boarded the vessel. There were subsequently 20–50 pirates on board the vessel at all times.
The pirates engaged in ransom negotiations with the German shipping company which lasted eight months. While in captivity, the crewmembers were repeatedly tortured and abused by the pirates. For example, the crew were subjected to physical abuse, food deprivation and fictitious executions. The crew were also forced to live in abject hygienic conditions.
On 28 December 2010, the ship and the entire crew were released by the pirates after the shipping company agreed to pay a ransom valued at USD 5 million. Once it was back in Germany, the tanker was investigated by regional investigators.
On 29 April 2013, the accused, a 44-year-old Somali national, was arrested in Germany en route to Norway, where he intended to visit his cousin. He had been stopped by German police on suspicion of illegal residence. The accused’s fingerprints matched fingerprints which had been found on a notepad left on board the vessel after the pirates had released it.
The accused was tried in Osnabrück, Niedersachsen, Germany. On 17 April 2014, the court sentenced the accused to 12 years’ imprisonment for abduction for the purpose of blackmail and blackmail and use of force or threats against life or limb. A subsequent appeal by the accused to the Federal Court of Justice of Germany was unsuccessful.
Landgericht Osnabrück [District Court of Osnabrück]
The accused was tried in Osnabrück, Niedersachsen, Germany. The trial lasted 16 days. Not all former crew members could be reached to testify as witnesses. Ultimately, four former crew members were able to testify as witnesses. The court concluded that the accused was one of the pirates who had held the crew in captivity and the accused was also responsible for the later distribution of the ransom money among the pirates. The evidence of the accused’s fingerprints on the notepad was critical in establishing his guilt. On 17 April 2014, the court sentenced the accused to 12 years’ imprisonment, a sentence which had been aggravated on the basis of the particularly brutal behaviour of the pirates.
Bundesgerichtshof [Federal Court of Justice]
The accused’s appeal to the Federal Court of Justice of Germany was dismissed without reasons.
Strafgesetzbuch § 239a
Abduction for the purpose of blackmail
The defendant was charged with abduction for the purpose of blackmail under Strafgesetzbuch § 239a(1).
Strafgesetzbuch § 253
Blackmail and use of force or threats against life or limb
The defendant was charged with blackmail and use of force or threats against life or limb under Strafgesetzbuch §§ 253, 255 and 250(2)(1).
Prosecutions by States for acts of piracy committed against their nationals (whether natural or legal persons) are rare because in most cases, the suspected pirates remain outside the jurisdiction of the State. In this case, the accused entered Germany to visit his cousin in Norway and was subsequently apprehended by German authorities and prosecuted for the acts of piracy committed in relation to the German shipping tanker that had been hijacked. The accused was identified by German authorities on the basis of a finger print that he had left on a notepad that was found on the released tanker.