Pirates allowing crew to stay in cabins

The pirates, who hijacked a Bangladeshi-flagged cargo ship in the Indian Ocean, today allowed crewmembers to get out of the ship's bridge and temporarily stay in their cabins after reaching the Somalia coast, said one of the crew members of the hijacked ship.

Since the pirates took over the ship on Tuesday noon, all 23 crew members were kept in the ship's bridge room, the wheelhouse from where the ship is operated.

"How are you all? We are fine by the grace of Allah. We are physically well, but a little bit distressed," the crew member said in a message to his younger brother in Bangladesh.

His brother informed The Daily Star that he got the voice message around 4:45pm today.

He said, since the hijacking, all crew had to sleep in the bridge and use a single washroom.

So far, the pirates did not hurt any of the crewmen, he said.

But he said the ordeal is putting pressure on his nerves.

"When you know a big gun is pointed at you all the time, it's not a good feeling, to say the least," he added.

And we had to try to sleep in such condition, he said.

The crew member said two well-equipped navy ships approached their ship yesterday and today to rescue them. But they could not go into action because of the safety concerns of the hostages.

"They (pirates) seemed not worried [about navy ship's chase]. They [pirates] know they have the hostages," he said.

He said the crew members are provided with food.

However, he feared that the ship's food stock and drinking water may not last long as the pirates were also sharing those.

"It may last for another 10-15 days at best," he said, adding that the situation may worsen when the supply will run out.

He said the tension between the pirates and crew eased after reaching the Somalia coast.

The pirates, upon request, let the crew go out of the bridge and stay in their cabins, he said.

"But we will have to go inside the bridge again later," he said, without providing more details.

He hoped that they would be freed soon as the  Bangladesh government and the ship's owning firm were making efforts to set them free.

"Please pray for us so that we can come out of this dangerous situation unharmed," he said.