23 Bangladeshis held hostage by ‘Somali’ pirates

Suspected Somali pirates yesterday hijacked a Bangladesh-flagged cargo ship with 23 crew members in the Indian ocean, according to the company that owns the vessel.

The crew members of MV Abdullah have been held hostage, said Captain Mehrul Karim, chief executive officer of SR Shipping Limited, a concern of KSRM Group.

The ship was sailing from Maputo in Mozambique to Al Hamriyah in the UAE with 58,000 tonnes of coal, he told The Daily Star.

"The pirate attack took place around 500 nautical miles off the Somali coast," he said.

Mizanul Islam, media consultant of KSRM Group, said, "The captain of the ship, Abdur Rashid, informed the authorities that the pirates were in control of an Iranian fishing boat near the MV Abdullah. As they ran out of fuel and food, they attacked our ship and were taking fuel. The crew members are safe."

Captain Mehrul said, "When Rashid first informed us about the attack, we told him to resist the pirates at any cost. But 15 minutes later, the captain sent an email saying that the pirates managed to board the ship and took over its control. We assume Somali pirates hijacked our ship. We are trying to talk to the crew members."

Captain Anam Chowdhury, president of Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers' Association, said, "One of our men informed us in a WhatsApp message that the crew members were locked inside cabins, and the pirates were carrying heavy firearms and ammunition. He sought our help. We are trying to talk to the government high-ups."

BNN Bloomberg reports that its ship-tracking data shows the Abdullah slowed to a standstill in the Indian Ocean before turning around. It was heading in the direction of the Somali coast last night.

The crew members include Captain Mohammad Abdur Rashid, Chief Officer Mohammed Atikullah Khan, Second Officer Mazharul Islam Chowdhury, Third Officer Tarequl Islam, Deck Cadet Sabbir Hossain, Chief Engineer ASM Saiduzzaman, Second Engineer Toufiqul Islam, Third Engineer Rokan Uddin, Fourth Engineer Tanveer Ahmad, Engine Cadet Ayub Khan, Electrician Ibrahim Khalil Ullah, ordinary seamen Joy Mahmud, Najmul Haque, Ainul Haque, General Seaman Noor Uddin, oilers Mohammed Shamsuddin and Ali Hossain, Fireman Mosharaf Hossain Sakil, Chief Cook Shafiqul Islam, Fitter Saleh Ahmed. The three others are Anwarul Haque, Asifur Rahman, and Sazzad Hossain.

KSRM Group has a total of 23 sea-going vessels. MV Abdullah, formerly Golden Hawk, was added to its fleet last year.

In December 2010, the company's MV Jahan Moni was hijacked by pirates in the Arabian Sea. Twenty-five crew members and the wife of the chief officer were rescued nearly 100 days after they were taken hostage.

The BNN Bloomberg report adds that there has been a resurgence of piracy near Somalia. The increase has coincided with a slew of attacks on merchant shipping in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, sapping nearby naval resources and heightening dangers for seafarers in the region.

At the end of last year, the first ship hijacking in the waters off Somalia took place since 2017. Naval forces operating in the area have published warnings that two piracy groups have been working in the Indian Ocean.

According to an United Nations report released on November 1, 2013, pirates off the coast of Somalia and the Horn of Africa made between $339 million and $413 million in ransom profits, fuelling a wide range of criminal activities on a global scale.