Monday, Oct. 03, 2005

Mohamed Hamid

By Simon Elegant

Mohamed Hamid, a 27-year-old Malaysian sailor on the oil tanker Nepline Delima, was asleep in his cabin below decks when he was woken by the urgent wailing of the ship's siren. The Nepline Delima, which was cruising through the pirate-infested Strait of Malacca that June 16 night, was under attack. The rest of the 17-member crew surrendered to the 10-man gang armed with machine guns and machetes, but Mohamed hid. There followed a 30-minute game of cat and mouse as the pirates scoured the ship for the missing seaman. "I was under the bed in a cabin and the pirates came in," recalls Mohamed. "Their torchlight caught my knees and chest, but for some reason they didn't see me. I was terrified."

As Mohamed surreptitiously watched the pirates beat other crew members, his terror turned to anger. "My colleagues were getting hit really badly; I had to do something." Mohamed slipped over the ship's side, landing right next to the pirates' speedboat. Groping around in the dark (Mohamed had never piloted a speedboat before), he finally found the ignition switch after 10 minutes and roared away. With only a vague idea of where the shore was, Mohamed plunged ahead through a rainstorm. After five hours the fuel ran out, but he managed to find a spare tank. In the morning Mohamed came upon a group of fishermen who guided him to a nearby marine police station. Six police boats rushed to the stranded vessel and surrounded it. After a six-hour standoff, the gang released the crew and surrendered.

Mohamed's family are proud of him but insist he no longer go to sea. Says his elder brother Mazlan: "It is dangerous and not worth it." Those whose lives Mohamed Hamid saved might not agree.