Hijacked MV Abdullah: Pirates take it further north of Somali coast

The pirates took the Bangladesh-flagged ship 45 to 50 nautical miles to the north and anchored it 4 nautical miles off the coast of Godobjiran town of Somalia yesterday evening.

According to a satellite image, the pirates took the vessel from Garacad to Godobjiran, said Shakawat Hossain, general secretary of Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers' Association.

According to Shakawat, the pirates were still busy settling the ship in a place where they felt safe.

Meanwhile, the Indian Navy said its long-range maritime patrol aircraft located the MV Abdullah hours after it was hijacked with 23 crew members on March 12.

The Indian Navy also ascertained that the crew held hostage by armed pirates was safe.

The European Union on Thursday said it deployed a ship to monitor the hijacked vessel.

Reuters reports that the European Union naval force on Thursday said Somali pirates who seized the Maltese-flagged bulk cargo ship Ruen in December last year may have used the vessel in the takeover of Bangladesh-flagged cargo ship off the coast of Somalia.

After taking control of the ship around 500 nautical miles off the Somali coast in the Indian Ocean, the pirates first anchored it around 20 nautical miles off Garacad port on Thursday morning. At 7:48pm on Thursday, it was anchored around 7 nautical miles off the shore.

Mizanul Islam, media adviser of KSRM Group which owns the ship, said the pirates moved the ship because they might have felt that their earlier location was not safe.

He added that the anchor of the ship was pulled out of the water around 3:30pm and it started sailing soon afterwards.

As of last night, the pirates made no attempts to contact the ship owners or parties that represent them.

"We are prepared to respond as soon as they communicate," he said.

A UK-based insurance firm is engaging a third party or negotiator to negotiate with the pirates, he added.

An anxious father of a hostage told The Daily Star that his son sent a message before Iftar on Thursday, saying that he was okay.

"I waited the whole day today [Friday] to hear from him," he said.

Family members of another hostage met Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud yesterday at his residence in Chattogram and requested him to ensure the safe return of the crew.

According to a Reuters report, visual information showed that at least 12 alleged pirates boarded Abdullah.

For a decade leading up to 2018, Somali pirates caused chaos in important global waterways, but had been dormant until a resurgence of attacks starting late last year, says the report.