(CNN) -- As captain of the Neptune tugboat, Viktor Nikolsky spends his days gently directing giant cargo vessels in and around the vast port of St. Petersburg, Russia. It's a job that requires patience, concentration and flawless planning. But life on the water wasn't always so rigidly structured -- far from it. Behind the sailor's steely visage lie memories of distant shores, daring adventures and a terrifying ordeal at the hands of pirates. A boat in the distance Nikolsky hesitates when recalling the moment he realized armed bandits were fast approaching his ship off the coast of Somalia. As the first mate of the MV Faina, Nikolsky was in charge of 21 crewmen and cargo aboard the Ukrainian operated freight vessel transporting aging Soviet military equipment to the port of Mombasa, Kenya, via the Gulf of Aden.
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Viktor Nikolsky is the captain of the Neptune tugboat in the port of St. Petersburg
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He was captured by pirates while sailing aboard the MV Faina off the coast of Somalia in 2008
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The Faina was held captive for just over four months
At one stage, when it looked as though a ransom would not be achieved, the pirates intimated they would transfer the crew to @placeholder in order to obtain a separate ransom for each individual.