[The Nation (Nairobi)] Involvement of terror groups in piracy has complicated negotiations for ransom payments, a maritime official said on Friday.The groups have infiltrated teams that negotiate for ransom, making it difficult for ship owners to know whether they are dealing with the right people or not, Mr Andrew Mwangura of East Africa Seafarers Assistance Programme said.
There are several terror groups operating in Somalia, the most ruthless being al Shabaab, which is believed to be close to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, and Hizbul Islam.
"The situation has caused confusion because some owners of hijacked vessels have claimed to have dealt with some negotiators who are not known. It is the main reason pirates are now holding ships longer than usual," he said.
The reports came as it emerged pirates had initially demanded $600,000 (Sh48 million) for the release of fishing vessel Golden Wave, which has 39 Kenyans on board, but the figure was raised to $3 million (Sh240 million) after terrorist groups demanded a bigger cut, according to Mr Mwangura.
Relatives of the Kenyan hostages met on Thursday to pray for their loved ones, and expressed concern that pirates might harm the hostages to avenge the killing of three suspects by Kenya Navy officers three weeks ago.
Mr Mwangura said the hostages had been divided into groups and were being used to aid their captors in their dangerous operations.
"Two recently hijacked vessels--one of them being Golden Wave -- are being used to launch attacks on other vessels, which exposes the hostages to great danger," he said.
At least four of the hostages are going through the ordeal for the second time. Somali pirates have recently stepped up attacks on commercial ships.
They have hijacked ships within the territory of Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar and Seychelles, raising fears that the pirates were becoming more daring.
They are also heavily armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. The International Maritime Bureau says 128 ships were hijacked in the first nine months of the year.