Staff Reporter:
The Bangladesh-flagged ship MV Abdullah which was hijacked by pirates dropped anchor some 20 nautical miles off the Somalian port of Garacad around 1pm on Thursday.
“None from the pirates has communicated with the ship owner till now,” said Md Mizanul Islam, media consultant of Kabir Group, which owned the ship.
“It may take a few days more to get the first response from the pirates,” he said.
Earlier, the vessel was spotted some 72 nautical miles off the coast around 6am .
“If the vessel continues with her current speed, she may reach Somalia anchorage between 1pm and 2pm,” said Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers’ Association (BMMOA) General Secretary Shawkat Hossain.
On the other hand, though a media outlet reported that the pirates demanded a ransom of $5 million, Kabir Group said it could not contact the pirates till Wednesday evening.
The group said they were trying to contact the pirates through various international organisations which work with them.
Mizanul Islam said they could contact the crew members of the hijacked ship on Wednesday and they were safe and physically well at that time.
“We also contacted the high levels of the government and the international organisations familiar with the incident,” he added.
On Tuesday afternoon, MV Abdullah was hijacked with 23 Bangladeshi crew members on board by armed Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean.
The bulk carrier of SR Shipping, a concern of Kabir Group, was on its way to Al Hamriyah Port in Dubai from Maputo Port in Mozambique. It was carrying 55,000 tonnes of thermal coal.
On 5 December 2010, Somali pirates hijacked another vessel, the MV Jahan Moni, belonging to the same company. After 99 days in captivity, the vessel’s 25 crew members and the wife of the chief engineer, Matiul Mawla, were released.
The authorities concerned and the government had denied the matter of paying ransom for the release then.
