There is much discussion about this supposed “kidnapping” on the Cruisers Forums, in particular after the tragic Samal incident a few weeks previously. It does appear however that many of the facts reported by the maritime press were inaccurate and the real story is something much less sinister.
See the thread on Cruisers Forum and comments posted on noonsite below.
It has been confirmed that crew member (not the owner) Diana, is now safely in Christmas Island.
Original report by Maritime News: http://www.newsmaritime.com/ [Broken Link]
The German yacht Faraway was hijacked in the Straits of Lombok off Bali Island, Indonesia.
The yacht, with two people on board, was on around the world trip, when it was attacked by armed pirates in the Java Sea. The pirates took control of the vessel and headed in an unknown direction, kidnapping the German citizens on board.
The yacht crew succeeded in sending a text message to their families who witnessed the pirates using violence and atrocities over them. No ransom request has been sent and the Indonesian Police and German Embassy have hidden the incident until now in order to follow an investigation and find the yacht.
Until now the German yacht Faraway has not been found.
“We have ordered carry out search tasks to the maximum and to investigate the accident”, said a representative from the Indonesia Police Department. “We understood about the accident from a text message from a passenger on board. The owner of the yacht, Diana Christa Lorens, made a short call to her family, but after that, they communicated only by text messages”, finished the spokesman of Indonesia Police Department.
The 20m vessel was about to call into Bali, but on a route through the Straits of Lombok was hijacked.
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