New Delhi: Captain of the hijacked ship Stolt Valor recounted the near death experiences undergone by the crew during two months of captivity by Somalian pirates.

But captain Prabhat Goyal said despite the incident the spirit to sail again is still alive in him and his men. "Many a times we had given up...we thought it was the end. The experience will remain with me all my life," Goyal told reporters.

The 22-member crew of Stolt Valor was in captivity for two months and was released after a hefty ransom was paid to the Somalian hijackers last week. Goyal said the relationship with the hijackers was highly strained as they were kept at gun-point all the time.

"The hijackers used to take their weapons with them even while going to the toilet," he said.

Reminiscing an incident which saw him face to face with death, Goyal said, "One day after the hijackers realised the negotiations were not getting anywhere, they picked seven of us. We were taken to the deck. There they singled out three of us and tried to force me to abandon the vessel. I was told to get down on the ladder. The hijackers fired from their Kalashnikovs all around me to force me to jump but I stayed put."

The ordeal lasted two and half hours. "All this while my crew members were crying as they felt that if the captain was killed that would mean the end," Goyal said.

Goyal, who has put in 29 years of service as a sailor, said the Somalians did not know English and most of the time they interacted in sign language. The Stolt Valor crew put up a brave face and tried to counter the hijackers in their own way.

"We segregated our stuff and rations from them. We fed them for 21 days and then stopped giving them rations," Goyal said.

He said though most of the time they had to plead with the hijackers with folded hands, they also created hurdles for their captors when they could.

"I used to surreptitiously go down in the night and cut the water supply to their side," Goyal said.

The hijackers may have committed atrocities on the crew but our spirits are still alive and raring to go, he said.

When asked if he would venture out into the seas again after this harrowing experience, Goyal said, "I will go through the same route ten times. I am ready to go there
several times. I am an Indian..."

Goyal also pointed out that there were financial compulsions and he and other crew members had little choice.

Pointing to his seven-year-old son, Shivansh, Goyal's wife Seema said, "He was born with a hearing impairment and has undergone cochlear implant. He uses a cochlear equipment which costs Rs 2.5 lakh."

The captain has two daughters, aged 16 and 11. Praising his wife for launching an agitation to free him, Goyal said, "I am proud of her."

Goyal said he can only afford to sit at home for a few months but would have to work after that. "Since I have no other source of income, even my wife will say, you go to the
seas," he said.

And added quoting Robert Frost, "I have miles to go before I sleep."

Source : DNA