A British sea captain and his crew are recovering after being held hostage for 47 days by Somali pirates who hijacked their vessel off the Horn of Africa.

Colin Darch, 70, was on his way to the Far East to deliver a tug when the ship was approached by five armed men in a large speed boat. As the pirates circled he managed to fend them off with the tug’s powerful engines. But he and his crew had to surrender when a second boat arrived and they came under fire from the pirates.

“When they started firing at the wheelhouse we decided enough was enough,” Captain Darch said. “Someone shouted that they were on board. We then shut down the ship.

“We were told that if we behaved no one would get hurt. If we did something wrong, we would be shot.”

Captain Darch was on what he intended to be his last voyage, delivering the ice-breaking tug Svitzer Korsakov from St Petersburg to Singapore, where it was due to be handed over to its new Russian owners before continuing to Sakhalin island in the Pacific.

He was well aware of the dangers posed by Somali pirates, who are always on the lookout for unprotected vessels making their way to and from the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.

“That’s why we were following the approved route and 70 miles off shore,” he said. “At first there was just one boat. I was able to fend him off with the thrusters so every time he tried to get close he risked being sunk. But then he went off for reinforcements and it wasn’t possible to keep two boats at bay.”

Captain Darch had been looking forward to retirement in Appledore, North Devon, after the voyage, which was expected to take 17 days. Instead, with Fred Parle, his Irish engineer, and four Russian crew, he was held prisoner at gunpoint by 20 pirates. The only Somali who spoke English said that they wanted a ransom.

Captain Darch was in daily contact with the tug’s owners, Svitzer in Copenhagen, but said: “We had reached stalemate and the pirates were getting impatient.” An American warship kept watch but did not try to rescue the crew for fear that they would be killed in a gunbattle.

After weeks of talks, a ransom in the region of $700,000 (£350,000) is believed to have been paid, although Captain Darch has been told not to discuss any of the details. Once a deal had been agreed there were still difficulties as the pirates had no passports or bank accounts. Captain Darch said: “It was like a syndicate of factory workers who had won the lottery but couldn’t find the ticket.”

On March 18, the pirates left and the crew were free to steam away.

Svitzer paid tribute yesterday to the “courage, leadership and strength” shown by the master and crew but refused to discuss the ransom.

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