23 sailors of MV Abdullah unlikely to be released before Eid: KSRM official
KSRM Media Advisor Mizanur Islam said, "We are working hard to release the hostages before Eid. We are talking to the pirates' representatives every day. The talks are progressing. However, we cannot say for sure whether they will be released before Eid"
The chances of releasing the 23 sailors, on board the MV Abdullah hijacked by Somali pirates, before Eid-ul-Fitr are slim, the authorities of SR Shipping, a subsidiary of Kabir Group (KSRM) said today (30 March).
According to them, the news published in some media that the sailors were being rescued and brought back to the country before Eid was not correct.
KSRM Media Advisor Mizanur Islam said on Saturday, "We are working hard to release the hostages before Eid. We are talking to the pirates' representatives every day. The talks are progressing. However, we cannot say for sure whether they will be released before Eid."
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"From our previous experience, we can say that even if the hostages are released before Eid, they will not be able to return home before Eid. Because there are a lot of things to do to bring them back to the country. It will take them 25/30 days to complete the work and return home. However, the truth is that it is difficult to release the sailors before Eid."
The 23 Bangladeshi sailors, along with the ship MV Abdullah flying the national flag, have been held hostage for 19 days in the den of pirates in Somalia, Africa.
Food and water stored on the ship MV Abdullah, which has been held hostage for about three weeks, 1.5 nautical miles off the coast of Jifl in Gedoberjan district of Somalia, is running out. Before the hijacking, the ship had about 200 tonnes of fresh water stored. Now the sailors are being rationed water.
Sources from the owner said when MV Abdullah was hijacked, the ship had about 25 days of frozen food stored for the sailors. However, there is a lot of dry food stored for a long time.
On 12 March at 1:30 pm, the Bangladeshi flag carrier MV Abdullah, carrying 55,000 tons of coal from Mozambique to Dubai, was captured by pirates, along with 23 sailors. MV Abdullah is now anchored off the coast of Gedoberjan in Somalia.
This is the second time that a Bangladeshi ship has been hijacked by pirates. Earlier in 2010, the same company's MV Jahan Mani ship was hijacked by Somali pirates. At that time, there were 26 people on board, including 25 crew and the captain's wife. They were rescued and brought back to the country with the ship after 100 days.
