A number of families of kidnapped sailors on board the MV Suez have decided to file a lawsuit against Abdel Meguid Matar and Mohamed Sobhi, owners of the cargo ship hijacked by Somali pirates earlier this month.
The wife of Wael Saleh, a senior engineer on board MV Suez, said the families decided to sue after the Red Sea Navigation Company declined to pay the US$ 1 million ransom. Company officials have stopped answering their phones and are refusing to speak to the families of those on board, Saleh added.
MV Suez was travelling in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) when it was attacked by pirates who quickly took command of the vessel. The MV Suez is a Panama flagged merchant ship with a cargo of cement bags. The crew includes 11 Egyptians.
The mother of another kidnapped sailor started a hunger strike a few days ago. She is requesting the intervention of Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
