Somali pirates left the ship with 23 sailors around 12 midnight on Saturday. The owner confirmed the release of the ship to Bangladeshi media at 4:30 am.
The owner KSRM Group claimed that the MV Abdullah and 23 sailors were safely released through a compromise with the pirates, using the experience of being held hostage by Somali pirates 13 years ago and the rescue.
Mehrul Karim, Chief Executive Officer of KSRM Group, said in a press conference held at the office of the company in Agrabad Gosaildanga on Sunday (April 14) around 12 noon, “Our other ship ‘Jahan Moni’ was taken hostage. Due to our lack of experience, it took time to free the ship. But then Using our experience, we were able to quickly free MV Abdullah.”
He said, “All the sailors and crew of the ship are healthy. No one was harmed.”
However, when asked about the ransom, Meherul Karim apologized to the journalists and expressed his inability to tell it.
Earlier, Somali pirates left the ship with 23 sailors around 12 midnight on Saturday. The owner confirmed the release of the ship to Bangladeshi media at 4:30 am.
About the process of freeing the ship, Mehrul Karim said, “Since the ship was taken hostage, we were constantly tracking its position. We were constantly monitoring where it was being taken from and where.”
He further said, “A few days after the hostage taking, one of the pirates who can speak English, started communicating with us. After that, following all international protocols, we also started communicating from our side. In this way, MV Abdullah was freed after months of continuous communication.”
Mehrul Karim said, “Two days ago we took videos of every crew-sailor on our ship to ensure their well-being. Every rule was followed. There were 65 pirates on the ship. The captain of the ship told me around 3 pm on Saturday that the pirates got off the ship in a speedboat. .”
When reporters asked Mehrul Karim about the ransom, he said, “I’m sorry. I can’t tell you anything about any ransom. We have an agreement with everyone on this issue. I can’t go beyond the agreement.”
Shahriar Jahan Rahat, deputy managing director of KSRM Group, said at the press conference, “Some things we have to keep secret. We cannot promote piracy.”
Shahriar Jahan Rahat said, “MV Abdullah will reach Dubai on April 19 or 20. After that, the sailors will return to Bangladesh by flight or ship.”
He said, after talking to the sailors and crew, it will be decided how they will come to the country.
It should be noted that Somali pirates took control of a Bangladeshi ship named MV Abdullah on March 12 on its way to Dubai with 50,000 tons of coal from Mozambique.
