MV Abdullah’s 23 sailors return to the country

Bangladeshi vessel MV Abdullah, with 23 sailors on board, has safely reached Chittagong port, escaping from Somali pirates.

On Tuesday (May 14) evening, they docked at the port on a lighter vessel. MV Abdullah, owned by the KSRM conglomerate, anchored at Jetty No. 1 of the NCCT (New Mooring Container Terminal) in Chittagong port.

Chairman Rear Admiral M. Sohail of Chittagong Port, Chittagong Mayor Rezaul Karim, senior officials of KSRM, and relatives of the sailors were present at the event.

After spending more than a month stranded due to pirate threats in Somali waters, when the sailors arrived in Chittagong, a reception ceremony was organized at the port.

MV Abdullah docked in Kutubdia on Monday evening. The 23 sailors disembarked from the lighter vessel at 11 am the next day.

To take charge of the vessel, a new team of sailors boarded the ship at 10 pm last night. The returning sailors transferred their responsibilities to the new team.

The ship got caught in the clutches of Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean on March 12 while transporting coal from Maputo port in Mozambique to the UAE.

The vessel was freed on April 14 after negotiations. However, after setting sail from the coast, Somali police arrested eight sailors for piracy.

On April 22, the ship arrived at Al Hamriya port in the United Arab Emirates. After unloading the coal there, the vessel left for the UAE from another port with a cargo of 56,000 tons of limestone on April 30.