Release of ship, crew: KSRM keeps mum on ransom

The hijacked Bangladeshi ship MV Abdullah and its 23 crewmen were freed as negotiation with the pirates adhering to international rules paid results, the ship-owning firm KSRM Group informed today.

"Everything was done in line with international regulations," said top officials of KSRM at a press conference held at his head office in the Barik Building area of Chattogram city this noon.

The officials, however, refused to make any comment regarding the alleged payment of ransom to the pirates.

Earlier today, Reuters reported quoting two Somali pirates that they released MV Abdullah and its 23 crew after $5 million was paid to them as ransom.

Meherul Karim, chief executive officer of KSRM, was in charge of the officials negotiating with the pirates and signed the agreement on behalf of the company.

Addressing the briefing, Meherul said the ship and its crew were released around 3:08am (Bangladesh time).

"The ship was released after the terms and conditions of the pirates were fulfilled as per the confidential agreement," he said.

"Since we are involved in international shipping, we follow different rules, regulations and norms related to international shipping. We did the same in signing the agreement with the pirates," the KSRM CEO also said.

He claimed that the release of the ship and its crew was done by shipping regulations of the United States, United Kingdom, Somalia, and Kenya.

However, when asked about the ransom they paid to the pirates and how it was paid, Meherul refused to make any comment. He also refused to detail the pirates' terms and conditions.

"I am seeking apologies from you as I am committed not to discuss it [ransom] since it is a confidential agreement," Meherul said.

Earlier, soon after their release, several crew members informed their families that the release process started after three waterproof bags full of ransom money were thrown from a small aircraft in the sea near the ship and a group of pirates in speedboats collected the bags.

At the briefing, KSRM deputy managing director Shahriar Jahan Rahat thanked the government high-ups including foreign minister, and different international organisations for the assistance they provided in releasing the crew within a short period.

Asked why there were no armed guards on the ship, Shahriar claimed that the ship was following the international standard.

There were no armed guards as the ship was sailing around 600 nautical miles away from the Somali coast, which is far beyond the declared high-risk zone, said Shahriar.

He said the ship was en route to a UAE port escorted by two foreign navy frigates following release, adding that the ship may reach there by April 19-20.

KSRM has a plan to bring back the ship to Chattogram after unloading cargo at the UAE port.

He also said they were yet to decide how the crewmen would be brought back.

After reaching UAE, the crewmen would decide whether they would come to Chattogram onboard the ship or fly back home from Dubai, Shahriar added.