MV Abdullah reaches outer anchorage of UAE port

The Bangladeshi ship MV Abdullah, which was released by pirates on April 14, reached the outer anchorage of the UAE port Al Hamriyah at 4:30pm (Bangladesh time) today.

The ship reached the port area around 2:30pm local time and anchored at B anchorage area, said Meherul Karim, chief executive officer (CEO) of the ship's owning firm SR Shipping.

SR Shipping is a subsidiary of KSRM Group.

The ship's captain has already contacted the port's authority seeking permission to berth at a jetty, he said, adding that a decision is expected by the the evening whether the ship can berth at a jetty by next tide tonight or tomorrow morning.

The ship was held hostage for around 32 days and got released allegedly after a huge amount of ransom was paid.

However, KSRM officials refused to say anything about the ransom issue due to a confidentiality agreement with the pirates.

After its release, the ship travelled around 1,450 nautical miles from the Somali coast where it was under captivity to reach UAE port's territory.

According to SR Shipping, the ship would first unload its cargo (coal) at the port and then head directly towards home.

Among the 23 crew, 21 have opted to come back home on the same ship, said Shahriar Jahan Rahat, deputy managing director of KSRM.

The ship's second officer Mojaherul Islam Chowdhury and general steward Mohammad Noor Uddin expressed interest in signing off from the ship at the UAE port and taking a flight home, he added.

Mentioning that they would take steps as per the wishes of the crew, Rahat said the ship would take several more weeks to reach Chattogram.

MV Abdullah was captured at gunpoint on March 12 around 600 nautical miles off the Somalian coast, while carrying coal from Maputo in Mozambique to Al Hamriyah in the UAE.