The European Union (EU) and the Indian Navy extended an offer to the Bangladesh government and the ship's owner to conduct operations aboard the smuggled ship MV Abdullah. However, both the government and the ship owner outrightly rejected this proposal.
No final decision has yet been made with the pirates to bring back the MV Abdullah ship with 23 sailors in the hands of Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean.
However, the pirates are in regular contact with the ship owner. Ransom negotiations are going on. But no information has been confirmed by the owners regarding the amount of ransom demanded.
General Secretary of Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers Association Captain Sakhawat Hossain said: “All sailors of the ship are healthy. Several sailors of the ship contacted the family on Thursday as well. We are in regular communication with the ship owner regarding seafarers.”
Atiq U A Khan, the captain of the sea-going commercial ship, said that the ship is in its previous position. pirates anchored only one and a half nautical miles away from the shore.
The European Union and the Indian Navy have jointly increased the pressure on the pirates to rescue the ship MV Abdullah. Foreign agencies cannot conduct operation on Bangladeshi ships without the permission of the Bangladesh government, he added.
The owner of the ship is trying hard to recover the ship MV Abdullah with 23 sailors. The languages spoken by Somali pirates are Somali and Arabic. Now the ship owner is being contacted by an English-speaking man hired by the pirates. No agreement yet, money will be sent after settlement, he continued.
The pirates contacted the owners of the vessel for the first time after nine days on Wednesday.
Mizanul Islam, a media adviser of KSRM Group, said: "The pirates contacted us this afternoon but they did not demand anything."
"We have talked about the crew and the ship in general. Now the environment for discussion has been created. We hope that a solution will be found. They informed us that all the crew members were safe and sound. They will not be tortured. They (pirates) will again contact us," he added.
Relatives are worried about the 23 sailors held hostage on the MV Abdullah ship. Relatives are waiting for when they will be released from captivity.
On March 12, a group of Somalian pirates seized control of the Bangladesh-flagged cargo vessel when it was carrying coal from Mozambique’s Maputo port to Al Hamriyah Port in the UAE.
MV Abdullah is owned by SR Shipping Lines – a sister company of Chattogram-based Kabir Steel and Rerolling Mill (KSRM) Group.
