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After 32 days of hijacking 23 seamen along with the Bangladeshi flag carrier ship M V Abdullah, Somali pirates released the hijacked Bangladeshi cargo vessel and all its crew at 3 am on Sunday, the owning company of the ship said.
KSRM Group, which owns the hijacked ship, held a press conference at its head office in the Barik Building area in the port city on Sunday noon and disclosed that the ship and the crew got released after negotiations with the pirates ended successfully.
KSRM Group, the owning company of the hijacked ship MV Abdullah, holds a press conference at its head office in Chattogram city on Sunday to announce the successful release of the ship and its crew. Photo: FE
Addressing the press conference, KSRM Deputy Managing Director (DMD) Shahriar Jahan Rahat said, “The ship and the crew got released after negotiations with the pirates ended successfully.”
Meherul Karim, chief executive officer (CEO) of KSRM Group and chief of SR Shipping, described the total situation and said, “I have negotiated the matter with the pirates by following all international shipping laws and regulations. At last, we are successful in releasing the crews and ships from the capture of the pirates.”
He said, “The pirates left the ship at 3 am on Sunday. After fulfilling their demands and a successful negotiation with the leader of pirates, all 65 armed pirates left the ship by boat.”
“I had made contact with the pirates and negotiated with them in association with all concerned international organisations. We could trace the ship every hour with our special device on board. So, the pirates could not go beyond our vigilance. Moreover, we had experience with the previous hijacking of another ship. So, we have been able to handle the pirates’ successfully,” he added.
He said, “The assistant leader of pirates could speak English, and we could speak with him for negotiation. Besides, we were getting the updated position of the ship and its crew.”
“All 23 crews on board are safe, in good health, and have been able to contact their relatives,” he added.
Meherul Karim said that the ship will reach the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on April 20. “Later, the captain and its seamen will start for Bangladesh with the ship on 24 or 25 April next,” he said.
It is reported that after receiving three bags full of dollars, the pirates of Somalia left the MV Abdullah at 3 am on Sunday. However, the owning company of the ship has not confirmed anything about how many dollars were given to the pirates as ransom or how much they wanted. Answering a question from The Financial Express, Meherul Karim said that he would not disclose anything in this regard as he is bound by an agreement signed by both parties.
Among others, DMD Karim Uddin and DMD Sarwar Jahan Rokon also spoke at the press conference.