The pirates on Wednesday contacted with the owner group of the MV Abdullah, a Bangladesh-flagged cargo ship which was hijacked by Somalia pirates with 23 crew members on board on March 12.
‘This afternoon we got a phone call from the third party on behalf of the pirates for the first time. No further discussion happened,’ Mizanul Islam, spokesperson of the ship’s owning company, SR Shipping, said.
‘They (the pirates) didn’t mention the amount of ransom and hope we will get another call regarding the issue. Owner group has all kind of preparation and through discussion, the crisis will be resolved very soon,’ he added.
On Tuesday (March 12), a gang of armed pirates took control of the MV Abdullah when it headed for Al Hamriyah Port in the United Arab Emirates, carrying cargo loaded with coal from Mozambique’s Maputo port.
The vessel, belonging to the Bangladeshi organisation SR Shipping Lines, a sister concern of Chattogram-based Kabir Steel and Rerolling Mill Group, has 23 crew members on board.
The vessel was carrying around 58 thousand tonnes of coal.
The ship was located four nautical miles from the Godobjiraan shore in north-eastern Somalia on Tuesday and its location remained unchanged till Wednesday.source: newage
