MV Abdullah freed with all 23 sailors after 33 days in captivity
The ship is now heading to the United Arab Emirates, according to Shahriar Jahan, deputy managing director of KSRM Group.
All 23 sailors of the hijacked Bangladeshi flag carrier MV Abdullah have been freed along with the ship from the captivity of Somali pirates after 33 days, according to the KSRM Group, the owner company of the vessel.
"Pirated ship MV Abdullah released! Alhamdulillah. All crews are safe and headed back home soon," Shahriar Jahan, deputy managing director of KSRM Group, wrote in a Facebook post at around 4:25am today (14 April).
"The ship is now on its way to the United Arab Emirates," Prothom Alo reported citing Shahrear.
On 12 March, the Bangladeshi flag carrier MV Abdullah, carrying 55,000 tonnes of coal from Mozambique to Dubai, was captured by Somali pirates, along with 23 sailors.
Earlier on Saturday (14 April) afternoon, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud had said MV Abdullah and its 23 crew were expected to be freed from the captivity of Somali pirates.
"You will hear good news very soon. All I can say is that the sailors will be freed very soon. We will be able to free the ship as well. Significant progress has already been made [to this end]," Hasan said while addressing the inauguration ceremony of 'Chatgaiyan Eid Ananda Utshab' at Laldighi Chattar in Chattogram city.
However, the minister did not provide any other details regarding the rescue of the sailors or the cargo ship.