They cut his ears off and tied him upside down – harrowing true story of being kidnapped by Somali pirates

The men lived in fear for nearly three years, but have now spoken out about their harrowing ordeal

MV Iceberg One cargo ship was hijacked as it set off in March 2010



When the ransom money did not arrive, torture sessions were increased



Whipped with electrical cable, thrown into the sea and having an ear chopped off were just a few of the torturous ordeals 22 hostages endured when being kept captive by Somali pirates.



Only released earlier this month, the men lived in fear for nearly three years, but have now spoken out about their harrowing experience.



The P anama-flagged MV Iceberg One cargo ship was hijacked by Somali pirates as it set off in March 2010 on a voyage to Britain with a cargo of electrical goods.

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Tortured: Mohamad Abdalla Ali, a Yemeni sailor, whose ears were slashed by the Somali pirates. He is being given medical care and will need further treatment

But the men were left to endure the longest pirate hijacking in modern maritime history, after the Dubai-owners of the ship refused to pay the $10 million ransom they demanded.

And when the ransom money did not arrive, the torture sessions were increased.

'They cut the ears off of one old Yemeni sailor. He is OK now but will need a few operations.



'They also shot over their heads, hit them so hard that many have lost their teeth, whipped them with sticks and wires and tied them up and left them in the sun,' said Mohamad Abdirahman, the Puntland Maritime Police Force director to The National.

The hostages' health deteriorated quickly after only being fed one meal a day of rice and dirty drinking water, reported The Telegraph.

Hostage: The Panama-flagged MV Iceberg One cargo ship was hijacked by Somali pirates as it set off in March 2010 on a voyage to Britain with a cargo of electrical goods

One sailor in particular suffered at the hands of the pirates.



Mr Jadhav said the pirates targeted Indian chief officer Dhiraj Tiwari because he stepped forward to protect them.

'They always beat him the most,' he recalled.

He said if they turned to watch the rest of the men were also beaten.



Home: On Sunday the men who are Filipino, Ghanaian, Indian, Pakistani and Sudanese boarded a UN plane for Kenya

Mr Tiwari has not been seen since the rescue, but his crew mates hope that after he was dragged away after a particularly severe beating from the pirates, that he may still be alive.



One man became depressed seven months into the ordeal and killed himself, although



Daylight was a rare treat as the men were locked up in a small hot dark room.



The men were allowed to call home, but it was simply a way for pirates to apply pressure in the negotiating process.

'We didn't think we were ever going to get out of there,' said Jewel Ahiable, 33, the ship's Ghanian electrical engineer, speaking to The Sunday Telegraph,

'Now we feel like we have been reborn.'



Recovery: The men were smiling before they boarded the plane, but many still have mental and physical scars

A 15-day rescue operation culminating in a gun battle between maritime police and the pirates, succeeded last week in rescuing the hostages.



The men were being held near Gara'ad village on the coast in Mudug region when Puntland's maritime troops surrounded it on 10 December.



Mr Ahiable said ' We were taken in barges, the boat came three times and took all of us outside, we got to there, and first for almost three years, we've never stepped on land. We got there, and in fact we got on our knees to thank the almighty god for saving our lives.'



On Sunday the men who are Filipino, Ghanaian, Indian, Pakistani and Sudanese boarded a UN plane for Kenya.



One of the pirate leaders said they only released the ship after negotiation with Puntland officials and local elders.



Hostage: British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler were held hostage for 388 days n the harsh Somali bushland by heavily armed pirates

'They kindly requested the release of the ship we held for three years. Puntland forces had attacked us and tried to release the ship by force but they failed. We fought back and defeated them,' the pirate known as Farah told Reuters.



Farah did not disclose whether any ransom had been paid for the crew and the ship, owned by Azal Shipping in Dubai with a deadweight of 4,500 tonnes.



International efforts including increased navy patrols have helped bring pirate attacks near the horn of Africa down 50 percent in 2012.

But more than 100 hostages are still in the hands of Somali pirates, who raid ships in the Gulf of Aden and hold the captives for ransom.

British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler were held hostage for 388 days.

The Chandlers, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, were seized as they sailed their yacht in the Indian Ocean, near the Seychelles, on October 23, 2009, and held in the harsh Somali bushland by heavily armed pirates.



VIDEO One hostage speaks about the moment they were saved