DG shipping sees good progress in negotiations with pirates

Negotiations with pirates about the release of the 23 crew members of hijacked Bangladeshi ship MV Abdullah have made good progress, said Director General (DG) of the Department of Shipping Commodore Mohammad Maksud Alam on Tuesday.

While talking to the media in Chattogram in the evening, he said that there had been a good progress in the negotiations, adding, however, that it could not be said for sure how long it would take to reach the concrete outcome, local media reported.

Earlier on March 12, the Somali pirates hijacked the Bangladeshi-flagged ship with 23 sailors aboard –headed from the African country of Mozammbique to the United Arab Emirates— in the Indian Ocean.