MV Abdullah: 18 crew members want to get off at UAE once pirates release them

The firm that owns hijacked Bangladeshi ship MV Abdullah has started chalking out plans on possible ways to bring the 23 crew members back once negotiations with the pirates are completed.

Some of the crew members have told their families that the plans include where they would like to sign off once the pirates release them, the family members told The Daily Star.

The ship's owning firm, Kabir Group of Industries, however refused to comment on the matter.

Experienced mariners said such advanced planning, such as how to bring the crew members back and find ways to send ransom, is normal when negotiations near the final stages.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, some of the crew members' friends and family said the ship's captain, acting on the firm's directions, has asked the crew members whether they want to sign off from the ship at the next port in the UAE or when the ship reaches Chattogram.

After release by the pirates, who hijacked the ship in the Indian Ocean on March 12, MV Abdullah is supposed to go to a UAE port to unload its cargo and then sail directly to Chattogram, said the sources.

A close friend of one of the crewmen confirmed that he came to know about the developments from the family of one of the crew members, who divulged the information today.

At least 18 crewmen want to sign off from the ship after it reaches the nearest port of UAE, while the five others want to sign off after the ship arrives in Chattogram, he said.

Officials of the ship's owing firm Kabir Group of Industries, popularly known as KSRM Group, however refused to comment on the issue.

Mizanul Islam, media adviser to KSRM, said he was unaware of such information.

He said there has been much progress in the talks with the pirates and they are hoping that the crew and the ship can be released shortly after Eid-ul-Fitr.

An official of the firm had earlier told The Daily Star that it would take all the steps for bringing back the crew.

If they want to sign off at the next port then they would be brought back home by air, he said.

A family member of a crew man said yesterday that many of the crew are suffering from illnesses like skin problems as they have not bathed regularly since the ship was hijacked, and so want to come back home as soon as possible.

The pirates attacked MV Abdullah on March 12 around 1:30pm (Bangladesh time), when the vessel was around 600 nautical miles off the Somali coast, sailing from Maputo in Mozambique to Al Hamriyah in the UAE.