Employer terminates survivors of pirate attack

Imagine the following scenario: Somali pirates attack and hijack your ship. They turn your vessel into a mother ship and force you to work for them as they conduct raids in the Arabian Sea. After being enslaved for three months, an Indian navy vessel engages your ship in a battle. A fire breaks out on board the vessel. You and your ship mates jump for your lives into the ocean. Nine of your original crewmembers drown. You’re taken to safety, likely battered, bruised and suffering the effects of PTSD.

A few months later, your company fires you and your fellow survivors.

This story actually happened to the 12 survivors of the Vega 5 which was hijacked on Dec. 27, 2010 off the coast of southern Mozambique. Pescamar, the Mozambican fishing company, cancelled the contracts of the survivors, reports the Beira daily paper “Diario del Mocambique.”

The company justifies the move by claiming it now needs fewer workers. It is reportedly not even offering any compensation.

Survivor Jose Mandava says that according to Pescamar, Mozambican law does not allow for compensation.

But somehow Pescanova, Pescamar’s Spanish parent company, was able to come up with a multi-million dollar ransom to release two of its Spanish crewmembers held hostage in Somalia.

How did Pescamar find a law allowing it to pay a ransom for only Spaniards but not compensation for other nationalities of the same crew?