How I survived a pirate hijack

Lives Less Ordinary

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.6 • 814 Ratings

🗓️ 2 July 2023

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Marine engineer Chirag Bahri was trapped for eight gruelling months on a chemical tanker.

Chirag loved his job working in the engine rooms of huge commercial ships. But in May 2010, while sailing through the Gulf of Aden, a group of pirates boarded the ship and held the crew to ransom off the coast of Somalia. Over the next eight months the pirates became increasingly violent, torturing the crew when their demands were not met. Despite the desperate conditions, Chirag still had his work to do. The ship was running out of fuel, and starting to malfunction.

Presenter: India Rakusen Producer: Rebecca Vincent Editor: Munazza Khan

Transcript

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0:00.0	You are about to listen to a BBC podcast and I'd like to tell you a bit about what goes into making one.
0:06.5	I'm Sadata Sese, an assistant commissioner of podcasts for BBC Sounds.
0:11.1	I pull a lot of levers to support a diverse range of podcasts on all sorts of subjects,
0:16.0	relationships, identity, comedy, even one that mixes poetry, music and inner city life.
0:22.4	So one day I'll be helping host develop their ideas, the next fact-checking, a feature,
0:28.3	and the next looking at how a podcast connects with its audience.
0:32.3	And maybe that's you.
0:33.6	So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds.
0:38.8	That particular boat was five, six miles away from us, and they're coming at very high speed.
0:46.5	So I received another call in the engine room, and I just heard one of the officers on the deck.
0:52.7	He was trying to scream,
0:55.1	please come on the bridge immediately.
0:57.2	The pirates are on board.
0:58.8	That was a sentence he just said and hanged the phone.
1:03.2	And I looked at my colleague who was there with me.
1:06.8	And I said, I think they are just playing with us.
1:10.2	And he thought it was a joke?
1:11.6	The initial thing was that I thought it's just a joke.
1:15.5	But this was no joke.
1:18.0	Pirates had taken the ship.
1:19.8	And engineer Chiragbari was about to become a prisoner.
1:24.9	His captivity over the coming months wouldn't be spent in a cell.
	...

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