"Even if we had to take a shower, only two of us at a time would be allowed to go for it and that also under their supervision. We had to take permission for everything," said Alistair, who worked in the engine room of the ship.
Another sailor, Burondkar, said the pirates seemed desperate people who could do anything to ensure they received the ransom.
"Their only purpose was to get money and they seemed like they would do anything for it," he said, adding, "There was no physical torture only mental torture of having to sit at gunpoint all the time."
The captain had warned them prior to sailing through the Gulf of Aden that there was a risk of piracy, but despite keeping watches on the deck they failed to prevent the ship from being captured, he said.
Burondkar, a resident of Murud in Maharashtra, said the Somali pirates, numbering about 30, were carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles and rocket propelled grenades (RPG).
Image: Santosh Patil, a crew member of MV Stolt Valor, exits the airport terminal after his return to Mumbai on November 24.
Also read: If pirates can take a supertanker, so can Al-Qaeda
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