Relatives of couple feared taken by pirates meet Somali premier

RELATIVES of a British couple feared snatched by pirates off the east African coast met the Somali Prime Minister yesterday as family members pleaded for an end to their “bad dream”.

Retired quantity surveyor Paul Chandler, 59, and his wife, Rachel, 55, disappeared after sailing from the Seychelles towards Tanzania.

European naval forces yesterday monitored a yacht seen towing a skiff — a small boat used by pirates — near to the Somali port of Haradheere.

However, there was no confirmation that it was the Chandlers’ 38ft Lynn Rival or that they had been captured by pirates.

A news agency was contacted on Tuesday by a man claiming to be a pirate who warned ransom demands would follow.

Stephen Collett, Rachel Chandler’s brother, met Somali premier Omar Sharmarke in London.

Sharmarke said his government would do everything it could to “see a peaceful solution”.

Although he admitted that piracy was a “criminal activity we want to see ended” he did add that the pirates were simply “responding to the loss and disappearance of their livelihoods”.

In a speech at Chatham House in London, Sharmarke said he wanted to correct the perception of pirates as criminals.

“Somali piracy is broadly perceived solely as a criminal activity,” he said. “It is rarely seen for what it really is — a desperate survival measure and in many coastal communities the only job available and the only viable means of income.

“We will do our best to see a physical end to this saga. As soon as we locate them, we will seek to exert our influence over local communities and see a peaceful solution to this.”

Stephen Collett said the family were keeping their “fingers crossed”.

“It may still be that they’re sailing across the Indian Ocean. We’re not grossly over-worried at the moment,” he said.

Paul Chandler’s sister Jill Marshment, 69, of Gloucestershire, told any potential captors that they had “got the wrong people”.

“If I was to give a message to the pirates, I’d say you’ve got the wrong people.

“They are not a wealthy couple. They just wanted to take early retirement, to take a boat and to see more of the world.

“They are resilient people. They won’t be weeping. Instead, they’ll be thinking: ‘What are we going to do? What are we going to say?’.

“It’s like a bad dream,” she added.

The couple, who have been married for 28 years, took early retirement about three years ago and spent several six-month spells at sea, before returning home for brief visits.

Commander John Harbour, of the European Naval Force Somalia, said crews were continuing to monitor the yacht seen heading towards the Somali coast.

“We still have the yacht in sight but still can’t confirm that it is the Lynn Rival.”