Progress made on freeing sailors of hijacked MV Abdullah: Foreign minister

Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud says that a lot of progress has been made in discussions with the pirates who have hijacked the MV Abdullah regarding the freeing of the sailors taken hostage.

The minister made the statement at the YNT Centre in Chattogram on Saturday in a discussion with journalists.

The families of the hostages have made an urgent appeal for their release before Eid. Asked how far discussions had progressed on their release, Mahmud said, “Our efforts are ongoing. We are working on all fronts. Discussions are ongoing with the hijackers and the sailors are fine.”

“There is no problem with food. They are in their cabins. As the dialogue has progressed quite far, we hope that it will be possible to release them soon.”

On March 12, the MV Abdullah – a ship owned by SR Shipping, a subsidiary of Kabir Group – was hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. The vessel was carrying 55,000 tonnes of coal from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates. The 23 sailors – all of whom are Bangladeshis – were taken hostage.

After taking control of the ship, the pirates moved the vessel off the coast of Somalia. They have repeatedly shifted the position of the ship. Nine days after the hijacking, the pirates contacted the owners of the vessel.

“Foreign ships are on alert around the vessel,” Mahmud said. In addition to negotiations, there is pressure on the hijackers, so we hope the ship and its crew will be freed soon.”

“We cannot give an exact date, but there has been progress. The crew of the ship do not get holidays before or after Eid. They work for six months to a year. If the ship had not been hijacked, they would not have left the ship before Eid or reunited with their families.”

Indian Navy warships and a warship from the European Union Naval Force’s Operation ATALANTA followed the MV Abdullah after it was hijacked, but it was not raided as the sailors were held at gunpoint.

Bangladesh has not approved any operations on the vessel by international forces. The owner has repeatedly said that, as in the past, they want to free the sailors and the ship by paying a ransom.

Somali pirates hijacked another Kabir Group vessel, the MV Jahan Moni, in 2010. It was released after the payment of a ransom 100 days later.