IT was all OK, Mas. I was seen to be like them,” he said, his voice weakening at the end of the telephone line. His fearful trembling could be clearly imagined when Slamet Juari, 52, spoke with Tempo by satellite phone last Friday. Slamet was calling with the Somali pirates’ weapons pointed at him. Slamet is the captain of the cargo vessel, MV Sinar Kudus, hijacked on 16 March.

Slamet recounted that the hijacking had occurred at around 10:30