Somali pirates have issued a demand of 5 million dollars for the release of the sailors of the detained Bangladesh ship MV Abdullah, according to media reports and threatened dire consequences, including the potential loss of lives, if their demand is not met.
One of the sailor Ovi’s mother informed the press according to voicemail she got from her son.
The demand, equivalent to approximately Tk 55 crore in Bangladeshi currency, has raised concerns about the safety and security of the crew members held captive.
Earlier, State minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chuwdhury at a press meet at the Secretariat on Wednesday said: “Our first priority is to keep the 23 crews of the ship safe and sound. At any cost, we want to bring back our crews alive without any harm,” he added.
Somali pirates confiscated the ship, MV Abdullah in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, and reportedly took it to Somalia. As of 11am on Wednesday, the ship was about 275 nautical miles away from the Somalian coast.
Among the 23 crew members, 11 are from Chittagong, two from Noakhali and one each from Natore, Naogaon, Feni, Faridpur, Lakshmipur, Barisal, Netrakona, Sirajganj, Tangail and Khulna.
Government is taking essential steps to ensure the quick bringing back of the hostages, Khalid Mahmud said, adding the Foreign Ministry, Shipping Ministry, and Bangladesh Navy have been working tirelessly since Tuesday afternoon to make the rescue operation fruitful.
Earlier on Tuesday, the ship, carrying coal from Mozambique’s Maputo port to Al Hamriyah Port in the UAE, was attacked around noon.
MV Abdullah is owned by SR Shipping – a sister company of the Chittagong-based Kabir Steel Re-rolling Mills (KSRM) Ltd. All crew members are being held hostage by the pirates, said KSRM’s media adviser Mizanul Islam.
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