Staff Reporter:
Widespread speculations are going on centring the payment of ransom and the amount reportedly given to the pirates for the safe release of the hijacked Bangladesh-flagged vessel MV Abdullah.
Although the owning authority Kabir Group is avoiding answers to the questions regarding the payment of ransom, the families of the crewmembers, and Reuters and media in Somalia have provided some descriptions regarding the issue.
The pirates who hijacked the vessel MV Abdullah with its 23 crewmembers in the Indian Ocean on 12 March contacted the owner for negotiation after nine days of taking the vessel at their haven near the Somali coast.
The pirates’ commander, who knew English, was the key person used to communicate with the owning authority for the release of the vessel and seamen.
“Mr Karim, we got everything,” it was the last conversation the commander delivered to Meherul Karim,” the chief executive officer and the contact person from the owning authority, just before departing the vessel on Sunday early hours.
Karim disclosed this while talking to the Daily Sun after a press conference they held to inform regarding the release of the vessel at their office in the city’s Agrabad area on Sunday afternoon.
Asked to clear the issue, the CEO who handled the total event efficiently, said they had agreements with different international organisations that assisted the issue and the pirates regarding maintaining confidentiality on the ransom issue.
He, however, informed that the pirate commander wrote a letter to him in Somali language.
“The commander told me that none of the pirate groups will intercept the MV Abdullah on its way to Dubai from the Somali Coast if the letter is shown to them,” added Karim.
On the other hand, Reuters on Sunday afternoon, quoting two pirates, reported that the MV Abdullah and its 23 crews were released after paying an amount of $5 million ransom.
Somali local media Puntland Mirror in its X account, quoting local sources, said Somali pirates released the MV Abdullah after receiving a $5 million ransom.
Mentioning the same amount, another media The Daily Somalia posted in the X that some of the pirates fled to the shore, where Puntland forces are currently engaged in military operations to apprehend them.
However, sources familiar with the Kabir Group, preferring anonymity, said the amount of the given ransom is less than the reported one.
Besides, the family members quoting the freed crewmembers said all the crewmembers were called in on the deck of the vessel on Saturday afternoon at gunpoint.
A small aircraft hovered over the vessel with a low flight at that time and confirmed that the crew were alive and unharmed.
Later, bags of dollars were thrown into the sea from the aircraft. The pirates, who were ready with the speedboat from earlier collected the bags around 4:00 pm Somali time.
There were some 65 pirates onboard at that time. They left the vessel at 12:08 am on Sunday, freeing the vessel and the crew members, they said.
Then the crews heaved up the anchor and sought help from the two frigates of the European Union staying close. The frigates were escorting the vessel till Sunday afternoon.
Somali pirates released the hijacked Bangladesh-flagged ship MV Abdullah with its 23 crew members in the early hours of Sunday after nearly 32 days.
The vessel started sailing towards UAE after lifting anchor from the Somali coast.
