On May 8, 2010, Somali pirates seized the German merchant ship the Marida Marguerite on the high seas, took hostages, pillaged the ship, looted and tortured its crew, and extorted a $5-million ransom from its owners. Mohammad Saaili Shibin, while not among the pirates who attacked the ship, boarded it after it was taken into Somali waters and conducted the negotiations for the ransom and participated in the torture of the merchant ship's crew as part of the process.
The SY Quest Incident occurred in February 2011 when Somali pirates seized the American yacht SY Quest and four United States citizens. The United States Navy ordered the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and three other ships to free the hostages. All four hostages were shot by their captors.
The SY Quest was the first US vessel captured by Somali pirates since the Maersk Alabama in 2009.i
i Maersk Alabama hijacking - Wikipedia (2023). Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maersk_Alabama_hijacking (Accessed: 1 March 2023).
Mohammad Saaili Shibin. ALS. Pmk: 16 MAY 2016. SEALED. Contents unknown. Pristine.
On February 18, 2011, Somali pirates seized the American sailing ship the Quest on the high seas. A US Navy ship communicated with the pirates on board in an effort to negotiate the rescue of the ship and its crew of four Americans, but the pirates referred the Navy personnel to Shibin as their negotiator. When the Navy ship thereafter sought to bar the pirates from taking the Quest into Somali waters, the pirates killed the four Americans.
Mohammad Saaili Shibin, also known as “Mohamed Salah Ali Shibin” or “Khalif Ahmed Shibin”, was found guilty by the US of serving as the hijackers' negotiator, planning the attack with them, and even collaborating with one of their number to conduct online victim searches. Shibiin used the blog written by Scott and Jean Adam, the owners of the 58-foot yacht SY Quest, and crew members Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle to assess their value as hostages. The “Central Regional Coast Guard” was the group of pirates who kidnapped the Americans, and reports suggest there was a dispute between the two groups over whether the hostages should be exchanged for the recently convicted adolescent or simply held for ransom.i
Shibin was later discovered, apprehended, and handed over to the FBI in Somalia. The FBI then flew Shibin to Virginia to stand trial for his involvement in the two crimes. He received a sentence of 12 life sentences plus 316 months in prison and $5.4 million in fines after a jury found him guilty on 15 counts.ii
VIDEO: Somali pirate sentenced to 12 life sentences | https://youtu.be/rp67BCr3T1s
VIDEO: Kidnapped by Somali pirates - The Negotiators - Full Episode | https://youtu.be/mg0i7L_FFLw
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i SomaliaReport: US Charges Alleged Ransom Negotiator (2023). Available at: https://piracyreport.com/index.php/post/527/US_Charges_Alleged_Ransom_Negotiator (Accessed: 1 March 2023).
ii United States v. Shibin, 722 F.3d 233 | Casetext Search + Citator (2013). Available at: https://casetext.com/case/united-states-v-shibin (Accessed: 1 March 2023).