Govt Will Bring Back Hostage Sailors At Any Cost: State Min

The government has termed bringing back the hostage sailors at any cost as a binding priority, said Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, the State Minister of Shipping. He mentioned this at a press conference this afternoon (March 13).

The State Minister said that the Bangladeshi ship is still under the control of pirates. However, 23 sailors are safe. Discussions are underway at the international level to bring them back safely and quickly.

Earlier, on Tuesday (March 12), a Bangladeshi ship named 'MV Abdullah' was hijacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean. Somali pirates seized control of the ship carrying 55 thousand tons of coal on its way to the United Arab Emirates from Somalia. Then they took responsibility for the 23 Bangladeshi sailors on board.

It is learned that Somali pirates demanded 5 million US dollars to release the sailors. If not released, Bangladeshi sailors are threatened to be killed.

In a recent audio message sent to the wife of the chief officer of the ship, Mohammad Atik Ullah Khan, he said, they are demanding money from us with mobile phones. If they don't give money, they will kill us one by one. They have promised to release us as soon as they get the money. Spread this message to everyone.

This ship belongs to S.R. Shipping, a subsidiary of the country's top industrial group KSRM. The ship, built in 2016, is 189.93 meters long and 32.26 meters wide. Originally, the ship was named 'Golden Hawk'. After joining the KSRM Group in Bangladesh, it was named 'MV Abdullah'. It is a bulk carrier.

It is worth mentioning that in March 2011, Somali pirates took 25 Bangladeshi sailors and the wife of the chief engineer hostage. After various attempts, they were rescued from the pirates' clutches within 100 days.