Report of Chandler ransom part-paid, British Somalis to pay balance

by Des Ryan on 28 Jun 2010 An unconfirmed report says that a clan chief of the pirate gang holding kidnapped sailors Paul and Rachel Chandler has claimed that they have received over half the ransom being demanded.

The money, he claimed, was handed over to elders of the clan by an agent, and had come from the family of the Chandlers.

Paul and Rachel Chandler, both in their 50s, were kidnapped while they sailed their 38-foot (12-metre) yacht Lynn Rival in international waters between the Seychelles and Tanzania last October.

'We have received $430,000, which is part of the $800,000 ransom agreed to pay to the pirates, from the family,' said Ali Osman Suge.

The elders were expecting Somalis living in Britain to send the remainder of the money during the weekend, he told Reuters.

Somalis in Britain, which has been their refuge from the anarchic Horn of Africa country, have contributed some money as a gesture of goodwill for the Chandlers.

They have also rallied for the couple's release, holding demonstrations and media appeals.

'Now, we are waiting for the Somali community in Britain to send their contribution on either Saturday or Sunday so that we can secure their safe release,' the elder said.

The pirates had demanded a $7 million ransom for the couple, but reduced the figure to less than $1 million.

The gangs, some made up of former fisherman angered by the presence of foreign fishing fleets in Somali waters, have made tens of millions of dollars in ransoms by seizing ships and crews.