‘No one feels good at gunpoint’

The hostages on board the hijacked Bangladesh-flagged ship were taken to their cabins from the bridge after the pirates anchored the vessel as dawn broke over the Somali port of Garacad.

At least three crew members of MV Abdullah made phone calls and sent voice messages in the afternoon to their family members and colleagues at the firm that owns the ship.

Soon after taking control of the ship in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, the pirates confined the 23 crew members to the bridge, the wheelhouse from where a ship is operated.

As of 7:48pm (Bangladesh time) yesterday, the ship was at the outer anchorage of the Somali port of Garacad, around 7 nautical miles off the coast, said Shakawat Hossain, general secretary of Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers' Association.

Rear Admiral (retd) Khurshed Alam, secretary of Maritime Affairs Unit at the foreign ministry, said, "The ship anchored at the Somali coast at dawn [Somalia time]."

The pirates have yet to make any demand for ransom and they have made no contact with the government, he told reporters after an inter-ministerial meeting.

A crew member in a voice message sent to his younger brother said the hostages slept on the floor and used the only bathroom at the bridge for two days.

"We are physically well, but a little bit distressed. They had not hurt anyone. But no one feels good at gunpoint. It's not a good feeling, to say the least. And we had to try to fall asleep in such a condition," he said.

He added that the ordeal was putting pressure on his nerves.

The crew member also said two navy ships approached their vessel in the last two days. But they did not take action because of the hostages' safety.

"The pirates seemed unfazed. They know they have the hostages."

Another hostage called his mother using a satellite phone around 4:40pm (Bangladesh time) and said the captors let the crew members go to their cabins and cook.

He also informed that the individuals who hijacked the ship left and another group took over.

"My son said he was fine and told me not to worry. He asked me to stay in touch with his employers," the woman told The Daily Star.

Her son also informed that pirates may allow the hostages to stay in the cabins until the evening.

Another hostage contacted SR Shipping, the owner of the vessel, around 6:00pm and said everyone was fine, said Mizanul Islam, media adviser of KSRM Group, the parent company of SR Shipping.

"The pirates have reached their safe zone. They may contact us soon. We are also asking several third parties to contact the pirates, but it may take a few more days to get the first response from the pirates," he said, adding that KSRM would take the steps necessary to negotiate with the pirates and ensure the crew members' safe return.

MV Abdullah was sailing from Maputo in Mozambique to Al Hamriyah in the UAE with 58,000 tonnes of coal when it was hijacked.

At the foreign ministry yesterday, Rear Admiral (retd) Khurshed said the government was also in talks with several third-party groups.

"While incidents of hijacking are not uncommon, our ship was not in a high-risk zone. Nevertheless, the pirates managed to hijack it… Drawing on past experience, we are hopeful that we will succeed in getting the ship and the crew released safely. However, we can't say when it will happen," he added.

The government is in constant contact with two European ships that are within 20 miles of MV Abdullah.

He added that it was decided at the inter-ministerial meeting that the situation will be resolved peacefully.