No contact yet with pirates who hijacked Bangladeshi ship: maritime affairs secy

The pirates who hijacked a Bangladeshi-flagged cargo ship in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday are yet to make any contact with the government, Rear Admiral (Retd) Khurshed Alam, secretary of Maritime Affairs Unit, said today.

However, discussions with various third-party groups are ongoing in a bid to rescue the hijacked ship, he said.

Following an inter-ministerial meeting with the foreign ministry, Khurshed Alam addressed the media regarding the hijack.

"While incidents of hijacking are not uncommon, our ship was not in a high-risk zone. Nevertheless, the pirates managed to hijack it from a distance of 575 nautical miles [from Somalian coast]," he said.

"Drawing on past experiences, we are hopeful that we will be able to release the ship along with the crew safely, without any casualties or damage. However, we can't give any specific timeline to this effect," he added.

Responding to a question, Khurshed said, "The pirates have not yet made any ransom demands or established contact."

Meanwhile, Commodore Mohammad Maksud Alam, director general of the Department of Shipping, said, "The MV Abdullah is currently anchored off the coast of Somalia. Authorities believe the pirates will contact us soon."