Tangerang. Four Indonesian sailors returned home on Tuesday after spending more than five months in captivity in Somalia, ending an ordeal that began when pirates hijacked the MT Honour 25 off the country's coast in April.

The four landed at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, where they were welcomed by Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Sugiono and other government officials.

They were freed on Sept. 29 after security forces in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region carried out an operation against the pirates holding the crew.

The MT Honour 25 was hijacked on April 22 in waters near Hafun, on Somalia's northeastern coast, beginning more than five months of captivity for its multinational crew.

The four Indonesians are Captain Ashari Samadikun, Chief Officer Wahyudinanto, Second Officer Adi Faizal and Fiki Mutakin, whose position aboard the vessel was not immediately specified.

Other crew members came from India, Pakistan and Myanmar.

Puntland authorities said their forces rescued 18 crew members during the Sept. 29 operation.

The Foreign Ministry, working through the Indonesian Embassy in Nairobi, had coordinated with authorities in Somalia, the shipowner and other parties in efforts to secure the sailors' release.

“Praise be to God, today we can welcome home our fellow citizens who, after a long journey, have finally returned safely to their homeland and their beloved families,” Sugiono said at the airport.

He said their release was the result of sustained cooperation and coordination involving Indonesian authorities, the Somali side, the shipowner and other parties.

Five Months in Captivity
The MT Honour 25, a Panama-flagged tanker, was seized by armed pirates near Hafun in April as piracy remained a security threat in waters off Somalia and the wider Horn of Africa.

Puntland security forces eventually located the hijacked vessel and launched an operation that resulted in the crew's rescue on Sept. 29.

The four Indonesians subsequently underwent arrangements for their repatriation before flying home.

Sugiono said the government would continue working to protect Indonesian citizens overseas and coordinate with relevant authorities when Indonesians encounter emergencies abroad.

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