“Somalian pirates had attacked our ship. They hold us hostage at gunpoint. Please pray for us.” Atik told his mother when she was enjoying iftar on the first day of Ramadan but the unexpected conversation shattered the joys of the moment.
Atik is one of the hostages among 23 crew members of the Bangladeshi cargo vessel MV Abdullah hijacked by a group of Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean on Tuesday (March 12).
Since then, the entire nation has reeled in great uncertainty and fear as every passing moment increases the risk for the sailors and exacerbates the gravity of the situation. Families of the hostage called for urgent and concerted action to address this crisis.
You Can Also Read: MV Abdullah: All You Need to Know About the Hostage Situation
Somali police and international navies were reportedly preparing to conduct a joint operation to rescue the Bangladesh-flagged commercial ship MV Abdullah, Reuters reported on Monday citing comments made by Somali police.
The police force from the semi-autonomous region of Somalia’s Puntland, a base for many pirate gangs, said it was on high alert and prepared to participate in an operation against the pirates holding the Abdullah, reports Reuters.
Puntland police forces are ready after they got reports that international navies are planning an attack,” the police said in a statement adding that they seized a vehicle that was transporting narcotics to be supplied to the pirates on board the Abdullah.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh government has strongly requested respective navies not to launch a forceful intervention.
“The government is exerting maximum efforts to rescue both the hijacked Bangladesh-flagged MV Abdullah and its crew members.”
Dr Hasan Mahmud
Foreign Minister
He, however, did not disclose the modalities. “We will not disclose in which way we are trying, because it is not an issue for public disclosure,” he said. “Our efforts will be to rescue all the crew members and the ship in the quickest possible time.”
“Conducting a military operation always carries the risk of casualties on board. Given that the ship owner has agreed to pay the ransom, there was no need for such action,” said Rear Admiral (retd) Khorshed Alam, secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs maritime unit, in a TV talk show on Saturday. “We want to resolve the crisis through negotiation,” he added.
A senior official of KSRM, the parent organisation of SR Shipping that owns MV Abdullah, also echoed the strong opposition against any forceful intervention. “The company does not support military action that might endanger the lives of our crew,” he said. When asked about the Reuters report, he said, “Why would anyone make a public statement before attacking a hijacked ship?”
He also highlighted the lack of records indicating successful rescues of abducted sailors unharmed through military operations.
The pirates attacked MV Abdullah around 1:30 pm (Bangladesh time), when it was around 500 nautical miles off the Somali coast, sailing from Maputo in Mozambique to Al Hamriyah in the UAE with 58,000 tonne of coal.
After reaching the Somali coast on March 14, the pirates changed the ship’s location twice and anchored the ship around 4 nautical miles off Somalia’s Gadabjiran coast.
Pirates Now Playing Waiting Game?
It’s been a week since Somali pirates commandeered the MV Abdullah, 600 nautical miles from the shore on March 12. For the last 48 hours, the ship’s position has been static, with the pirates yet to initiate contact with the ship’s owner or authorities. A voice message from a sailor aboard the MV Abdullah revealed that a fresh group of 11 armed pirates has assumed control, replacing the initial hijackers.
Naval specialists believe the pirates are engaged in a calculated holding pattern, carefully assessing their next move. They initially spent time finding a secure spot to anchor the ship, and now they’re appraising the ship’s worth and the owner’s ability to meet their demands.
Shakhawat Hossain, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers Association, told the media that the pirates have moored MV Abdullah near the Godob Jiraan coast since Friday evening without any subsequent movement. “This indicates they have secured a safe location and settled in,” he stated.
The seasoned mariner mentioned that the pirates are likely handing over the ship’s control to a new group for security reasons. They’re also evaluating the ship’s cargo—55,000 tonne of coal—and the owner’s capacity to meet their demands.
He further noted that the pirates are keeping an eye on media reports to measure public response, which they plan to use in determining the ransom. “However, the pirates are deliberately prolonging the process to instill panic, employing a waiting game strategy,” Shakhawat emphasized the importance of staying composed and patient, awaiting the pirates’ outreach instead of giving in to alarm.
Reflecting on a past incident, a senior KSRM official recalled that during the 2010 hijacking of their vessel MV Jahan Moni, the pirates made initial contact after more than two weeks. In December 2010, MV Jahan Moni was seized by pirates in the Arabian Sea, and the 25 crew members, along with the chief officer’s wife, were rescued nearly 100 days after their captivity.
Families Grapple with Worry
Relatives of the crew on the seized MV Abdullah are facing an agonizing wait. The absence of communication since the vessel’s capture has left them fraught with concern, eagerly awaiting in anticipation of their safe return.
The silence since last Friday has heightened their anxiety, prompting calls for swift action from the shipping firm and government officials to secure the crew’s safe return.
Luthfa Ara Begum, mother of crew member Ainul Hoque Abhi, said, “I urge the Prime Minister to intervene in this matter. It is imperative that we collectively work towards resolving this crisis.”
Badrul Islam, related to the ship’s oiler Mohammad Shamsuddin, reported on Monday that while the crew remains in good health, they are in a severe water shortage, limited to just a few hours of access daily, leaving them dependent on seawater for the rest.
He recounted a conversation with Shamsuddin, “I spoke with Shamsuddin on WhatsApp when he made a call at around 2pm on Sunday Bangladesh time. He said he was healthy. He told me the pirates had taken away everyone’s mobile phone, promising to return them with local SIM cards. But they did not do that. It is a kind of deception.”
Badrul said that the pirates have not yet made ransom demands, preferring to wait for the shipowners to reach out first, potentially to negotiate a higher sum. And on the other hand, the ship owners are waiting for the pirates to make the first move and outline their demands.
Reena Akhter, spouse of engine oiler Mohammad Shamsuddin, shared her distress, “My husband made a phone call for the last time on Tuesday at 5:40 pm. After that, there has been no contact for the past four days. I am very worried about him.”
