"Captain, can we still escape?"
"Captain, go out and fight with them, we are 16 people, 7 of them, we are not afraid!"
"Captain, I still have a wife and children in my family, and I can't die here."
On the afternoon of August 23, 2001, the Chinese fishing boat Fuyuanyu No. 226 in the Gulf of Aden was slowly sailing, and the captain, Fang Jiabai, was confused because they had been hijacked by pirates and locked up in a warehouse, and the fishermen hoped that he would come up with an idea as soon as possible...
In the middle of the night, the fishermen bravely attacked and captured all 7 pirates.
What happened during that day? How do fishermen catch gun pirates alive?
Acting in a movie? The highly paid security personnel are spies!
On August 16, 2001, the Chinese fishing vessel Fuyuanyu 226 was sailing in the Somali Sea.
On this day, the sea is windy and sunny, all the way smooth water, fishermen are very much looking forward to this trip to the sea to load a boat of fish, Bo a "fish full warehouse", and then safely return to the shore.
Two uniformed men on board, patrolling the boat with guns, watched closely at every move at sea, and they were fishermen hired from british security companies with high salaries.
Because of the perennial sea, fishermen know that Somali pirates kill people without blinking, if they encounter it, they will definitely do it with real knives and guns, so every time they go to sea, they must bring security personnel to protect everyone's safety.
The fishermen were reassured to see the security personnel so conscientious.
On August 23, the fishing boat reached its destination, and everyone worked together to break anchor and cast nets and start fishing operations.
The fishermen were thrilled to see the white-flowered fish being netted.
However, at this moment, the captain Fang Jiabai suddenly heard 2 gunshots, which made him feel bad, thinking that the pirates must be coming, and the security personnel and the pirates exchanged fire!
There was a commotion on the deck, and Fang Jiabai quickly went up to the deck to check the situation, but the scene in front of him made him look confused. It was two security guards who fired their guns to warn fishermen.
Seeing Fang Jiabai coming out, the two security guards pointed guns at him and asked him to stand with all the fishermen.
Jiabai finally understands that these two security guards want to rebel!
Looking at these two pirates with live ammunition, Fang Jiabai's brain was running at high speed, thinking that there were 16 people in his team, and if they fought hard, these two pirates might not be their opponents.
Unexpectedly, at this time, a speedboat in the distance sped towards this side, and not long after, I saw 5 pirates with AK47s on board.
Needless to think, it must have been these two security personnel from the British security company who sold the news of the fishing boat's voyage to the other 5 pirates.
After negotiations, the pirates offered a ransom of $6 million before they could be released.
It seems that this group of pirates did not just come for the fish and money on the boat, but wanted to hijack the fishermen and then demand a high ransom from the fishermen's families.
The pirate leader escorted the fishermen to the warehouse and put the captain Fang Jiabai in charge of driving the boat.
The captain sent out distress signals twice but no one came to the rescue
In the face of the fierce and vicious armed pirates, Fang Jiabai knew that it was definitely not possible to fight hard, so he had to drive the ship to the pirates' lair according to the requirements of the pirates.
Along the way, the pirates all stared closely at the fishermen and Fang Jiabai, who was thinking quickly in his head about how to send a distress signal to the outside world, while slowly reducing the speed of the ship.
He suddenly thought that Fuyuanyu No. 225, which had gone to sea with them, was 12 nautical miles away from them, and that the intercom should be able to communicate.
Therefore, taking advantage of the pirates' lack of attention, Fang Jiabai quietly picked up the walkie-talkie in the cockpit and wanted to send a distress signal to Fuyuanyu No. 225.
Despite Fang Jiabai's caution, his subtle body posture changes attracted the attention of a pirate.
The pirate did not speak, took a step closer to Fang Jiabai, glared at him viciously, and pointed a gun at him, warning him not to have any more crooked thoughts.
The failure of this call for help made Fang Jiabai more anxious, but he seemed to realize one thing, and he secretly reduced the speed of the ship, but the pirates did not notice.
To test this view, he tentatively reduced his speed, and the pirates were still unaware.
That is to say, this group of pirates will not drive fishing boats, which makes Fang Jiabai feel relieved, he has reduced the speed of the ship to a minimum without causing the pirates to be alert, and has delayed for time to wait for rescue.
At the same time, he believes he will find another opportunity.
Finally, a pirate was going to go to the toilet, and taking advantage of the gap between their handovers, Fang Jiabai secretly said the destination several times to the intercom in a low voice, that is, the pirate's lair.
After the signal was sent, Fang Jiabai anxiously waited for Fuyuanyu No. 225 to help him ask for help from the headquarters, and he believed that the headquarters would definitely contact the security company and send security personnel to rescue them.
However, seeing that 2 hours had passed, the fishing boat was getting closer and closer to the pirates' lair, but no one had come to rescue them, and Fang Jiabai thought that the distress signal just now had failed.
The only hope of rescue was gone, which frustrated him, but Fang Jiabai did not give up, and he could not give up. After all, everyone called him Captain, and he must take all the fishermen home safely.
As the fishing boats sailed longer and longer, everyone's fatigue came up, and the pirates were no exception.
At night, the wind and waves were getting bigger and bigger, the fishing boats were struggling to sail, the hull was shaking left and right, and several pirates suddenly felt dizzy.
Just when Fang Jiabai tried his best to ask for help, the trapped fishermen in the cabin were also actively discussing countermeasures, but their opinions were not unanimous, this was a life-and-death contest, and no one dared to take the idea.
Therefore, everyone decided to replace the captain and let the captain make up his mind.
After they had discussed, they shouted at the pirates, who opened the door of the warehouse and pointed their guns at them, demanding that the captain be replaced on the grounds that he was not in good health and could not be overworked.
The pirates looked at the unarmed fishermen and did not think that they had the ability to resist, so they did not hesitate to agree.
Soon, the captain was replaced and a pirate escorted him to the warehouse.
The fishermen became excited when they saw the captain coming, as if they had seen hope. Fang Jiabai signaled everyone to be quiet and whisper, so as not to alarm the pirates.
Therefore, everyone quietly discussed countermeasures.
"Captain, my wife and doll are still waiting for me to go back, you want to take us back!"
"Captain, we fell into the hands of pirates, I'm afraid that even if we pay the ransom, we won't be able to live, so instead of the death of the nest, it is better to rush out and fight!"
"Captain, fight it, or when you get to the pirate's lair, you don't know what you're going to suffer!"
......
Everyone talked and said their own ideas and suggestions, but the opinions were always difficult to unify, and time passed minute by minute, and in the end, Fang Jiabai let everyone listen to his own command.
He told the crowd that the passage to the upper deck was too narrow, and if he rushed up, he would definitely block the gun and die in vain, so he must be calm and wait for the right time.
At this time, the pirates saw that there was no movement in the warehouse, so 3 of them went into the cabin to rest, leaving 4 pirates outside to guard.
At 1:00 a.m. on August 24, Fang Jiabai thought that the pirates should be sleepy, and it was the best time to do it. So he divided everyone into three groups, and after arranging the plan, everyone waited for him to give orders.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Fang Jiabai himself and his brother led the first team, and they crept to the deck first.
The two pirates in charge of the guards on the deck were dozing off at this time, and several of them rushed up to quickly grab their guns and subdue the 2 pirates.
At the same time, the other group went to the lounge, where they found that the two pirates here were not holding guns or even wearing clothes.
So they rushed in, several people attacked at the same time, and the pirates did not react, only to see them bare-chested, raised their hands, their faces frightened, and their mouths grunting loudly and loudly that the crowd could not understand, as if to say: I surrender! I give up!
The multitude divided the two by three, and then they threw the two men to the ground.
In the end, there were only 3 pirates sleeping in the cabin. Due to the loud wind and waves at sea, the 3 pirates who were sleeping were not awakened by the shouts of their accomplices.
So another group of people took the opportunity to quickly enter the cabin and first took their guns away. Then, soon they controlled the 3 pirates in one fell swoop.
Finally, everyone worked together to finally use their wit to control all 7 murderous pirates. The pirates were tied up by their backhands and locked up together.
Fuyuanyu No. 225 fishing boat came to support
Seeing that the pirates were finally swept away by a net, the stone in Fang Jiabai's heart landed on the ground.
After adjusting his mood, he quickly organized an inventory of the number of fishermen, but fortunately everyone was there, and only one fisherman was injured in the process of fighting with the pirates.
Fang Jiabai immediately contacted Fuyuanyu No. 225 through the intercom, and the No. 225 fishing boat that received the signal quickly arrived.
Seeing the scene on the boat, the fishermen on the No. 225 fishing boat who came to the boat were stunned!
After Fuyuanyu No. 225 arrived, Fang Jiabai learned that in fact, when he called for help for the second time, Fuyuanyu No. 225 had already received a distress signal.
Because the address Fang Jiabai said was too familiar to them, the captain Liu Yongqiang reacted immediately, and the no. 226 fishing boat was hijacked by pirates.
They immediately reported to the headquarters and turned to the direction of the Fuyuanyu No. 226 fishing vessel, and went full speed to catch up. But somehow, they chased for 2 hours and did not find any trace of Fuyuanyu No. 226.
Later, the headquarters issued an order requiring Fuyuanyu No. 225 to stand by and not to advance again, so as not to let the No. 225 fishing boat also fall into the hands of pirates, increasing the difficulty of rescue.
At that time, the headquarters contacted the British security company, but the security company did not know in advance that their employees had colluded with the pirates privately, and did not give a good rescue plan for a while.
During those few hours, everyone feared that the entire members of the isolated Fuyuanyu 226 might have been caught in the pirate's lair.
Fortunately, under the leadership of Captain Fang Jiabai, everyone defeated the pirates together!
Finally, after consultation between the captains of the two ships, they agreed to leave the Somali fishery, and with the approval of the headquarters, they decided to sail the ship to Yemen together.
On August 27, on the docks of the port of Aden in Yemen, the Chinese Consul General in Aden and his party had been waiting for a long time, and the fishermen who had escaped from death shed tears of excitement when they saw their relatives from the motherland.
As for the few pirates who were arrested, they were also sent to Yemen by their headquarters colleagues and handed over to the local government for disposal.
The local fishermen heard about their heroic deeds, expressed their admiration, and praised the greatness of China's fishermen.
After returning to shore, the headquarters commended Captain Fang Jiabai and Captain Liu Yongqiang for their behavior, awarded them and the fishermen with bonuses, and the British security company also apologized to them and compensated them.
The Chinese Naval Escort Formation in the Gulf of Aden was established
Although he was able to escape from the tiger's mouth this time, in retrospect, It still made Fang Jiabai feel uneasy, and other fishermen also became afraid of going to sea.
After all, Somali pirates are notorious internationally, and all the fishing boats that are remembered by pirates are not spared, ranging from extortion of huge ransoms to heavy people and money.
This time, it was a fluke that everyone was able to escape unharmed.
Why is Somali piracy so rampant that passing ships are so afraid? This starts with Somali pirates and the Somali Government.
Somalia officially declared its independence in 1991, but then-President Barre was ousted by the interventionist forces.
Barré was not content to step down, and his supporters took the opportunity to launch a new round of armed struggle.
During this turbulent period, some violent groups seized the opportunity to seize resources and entrenched in the Somali waters near the Gulf of Aden, gradually becoming pirates who burned and looted.
Remember that the Gulf of Aden is an important sea route into the Mediterranean and Atlantic Oceans, and it is inevitable that all kinds of ships will have to pass through here.
In addition, the topographical characteristics of the Gulf of Aden have also created a rampant situation of pirates, because the waterway is narrow, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is difficult for ordinary ships to fight the pirates who have been entrenched here all year round.
These murderous pirates, with a clear division of labor and very cunning, will even send spies to lurk in various security companies for a long time to help them plan inside the fishing boat.
Perhaps since there are so many pirates, why don't fishermen avoid them and go fishing in other seas?
This is because, in the eastern part of the Somali Peninsula, there are natural fisheries with very rich fish resources, and every summer, there are very large numbers of fish gathered here.
Fishing boats that sail away from the ocean often cost a lot, and in order to catch more fish, fishermen have to "take risks".
If there is no encounter with pirates, the profits that can be obtained from a successful fishing in somali waters are considerable, so in the end, fishermen are forced by life to take such risks.
Fang Jiabai and the fishermen, it is also for the sake of their wives and children, old and young, that they have to embark on the dangerous fishing voyage again after a period of rest.
In the years since, Somali piracy has continued to be rampant, with fishing boats hijacked and even fishermen killed for not being able to pay ransoms.
In order to further protect the safety of the lives and property of the mainland's vessels and fishermen going to sea, the mainland has repeatedly applied to the United Nations to establish naval escort formations.
In 2008, according to the United Nations resolution and with the approval of the Somali government, the mainland finally officially established the Chinese Naval Escort Formation in the Gulf of Aden!
The main task of this escort formation is to protect the safety of Chinese ships and personnel sailing through the Gulf of Aden.
At this point, the fishing boats and fishermen of the past can finally carry out fishing operations in the somali waters with peace of mind under the protection of the motherland's army!
epilogue
Fuyuanyu No. 226 led by Captain Fang Jiabai, in the case of being hijacked by pirates with guns, everyone was calm and calm, and united to capture the pirates alive, which is heroic and worthy of admiration.
Fuyuanyu No. 225, led by Captain Liu Yongqiang, after receiving the rescue call from the fellow fishing boat, everyone unanimously agreed to help the compatriots who were in distress, regardless of the danger, which is worthy of appreciation.
Today, in the face of Somali pirates armed with automated weapons, only the strong motherland and the powerful Chinese navy are the strongest backing of fishermen!