Welcome release of Bangladeshi seamen from Somali pirates

On the Bangla New Year's day (April 14, 2024), came the good news that MV Abdullah, a privately-owned Bangladeshi marine cargo vessel with 23 crew members on board has finally been released by Somali pirates. Notably, the pirates hijacked the ship on March 12 this year, 600 nautical miles off the Somali Coast. The ship was carrying coal to the United Arab Emirates (UAE)'s port of Al Hamriya in Dubai. Another ship named MV Jahan Moni owned by the same group of company, KSRM, was also hijacked by Somali pirates a decade back and it had taken 99 days before it was released from captivity. MV Abdullah took only 32 days for its release. Obviously, previous experience of dealing with pirates, as informed by the company owning the vessel, and support extended by the International Navy to keep the pirate-infested waters secure have helped early release of the hostages. If anything, the most significant and heart-warming aspect of the over a month-long effort of both the officials of the company and of the government has been that the crew members of the ship are in good health and that they could keep contact with their anxious family members even in captivity.

In that case, the ship and the seamen thus held hostage are rather lucky. The ship is reportedly being escorted by a couple of warships belonging to the European Naval Force and is yet to cross the most dangerous waters. It might take another week's time to reach its port of destination at Dubai. For this reason, especial measures have reportedly been adopted such as securing the ship with razor wire on the railings, rigging the ship's deck with high-pressure fire hoses, readying the ship citadel, an area of ship built to protect crewmen against pirates trying to gain entry into it, emergency fire pump, sound signal and all other steps necessary. It's good to know that the required protective measures are now in place. But questions remain as to why the needed measures were not taken before the ship fell prey to the pirates. Anyway, given that such incidents of piracy on the sea or of disasters of natural origin are in most cases unpredictable, there is still reason to be happy and thankful to, first of all, the Almighty, and then to all the parties involved in the successful negotiations with the pirates to ensure safe release of the ship and its hostages.

A decade-old survey report on the piracy off the coast of Somalia, 'One Earth Future Foundation' by a US-based private organisation is worth mentioning here. It said 31 ships were released in 2011 by paying ransom and, on an average, it took 178 days to free the hostages. In 2012, the average time taken for the release of eight ships and their crewmen was 316 days and, of course, by ransom. So, the negotiators from the government and the company owning the ship deserve plaudits for their exemplary efforts.

However, necessary skill to handle pirates is only expected of those concerned because Bangladesh depends overwhelmingly on sea-borne external trade. Bangladesh-owned ships carrying people and goods abroad must be kept secure. To that end, all preventive measures must be taken before a ship embarks on a voyage to a foreign port, in the first place.