Taufiqul Islam, the second engineer of the Bangladesh-flagged ship MV Abdullah, captured by Somali pirates on Tuesday, has been able to speak to his wife and mother over the phone twice after being taken hostage.
At around 5pm on Tuesday, he called his mother and asked for prayers and forgiveness, before his captors seized his mobile phone.
Since then, the family has not been able to contact him, said Taufiqul’s mother Dil Afroz.
The vessel with 23 crew members carrying coal was en route to the UAE from Mozambique when it fell into the hands of pirates in the Indian Ocean.
Taufiqul Islam, a resident of the Boyra Karimnagar area of Khulna, is the father of one son and one daughter.
Taufiqul's wife Zubaida Noman said he talked to his mother on Tuesday afternoon.
Earlier, he contacted Zubaida at around 2pm. At that time, Taufiqul urged his wife not to tell his parents about being held hostage by pirates.
Since 2008, Taufiqul has been working on various ships. His two elder brothers are involved in business. Taufiq completed his studies and got a job as a sailor. He joined MV Abdullah in November.