The MV Abdullah, a Bangladeshi ship held hostage by Somali pirates, is running out of food fast. As a result, after two weeks of hostage taking, the bandits started bringing food to the ship from the shore.
Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers Association, the ship’s owner and seamen’s organization, confirmed this information on Wednesday.
The sailors had 25 days of food when the pirates took the ship hostage on March 12. 16 days of Zimmidsha have already passed. At that time, along with the sailors, the bandits were also eating the ship’s food.
Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers Association has been keeping in touch with the ship’s sailors. Captain Anam Chowdhury, president of the organization, said that bandits bring food for their own benefit. They have received news that MV Abdullah also brought Tehreese food on board.
Earlier, in 2010, the hijacked MV Jahan Mani was also supplied by pirates after it ran out of food. After about 100 days, the ship with the sailors was freed. Mohammad Idris, a sailor on that ship, said that at some point after the hostage taking, the frozen food was spoiled because the ship’s refrigerator was closed. At the end of the hostage-taking, when the food ran out, the bandits used to supply food from the shore.
Usually a day’s worth of food is kept on board for a little longer than it takes to reach the destination. The hostage Bangladeshi ship was captured by pirates in the Indian Ocean en route from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates. This journey took 15 days. As such, the ship did not have much food for the day.
Mizanul Islam, media adviser of Kabir Group, the owner of the ship, said that the hostage sailors are healthy. There is nothing to worry about if the sailors are running out of food on board. Because bandits are bringing food to the ship from the shore.
Meanwhile, the owners said that negotiations with the bandits are continuing to bring back the hostage Bangladeshi ships and sailors. The owners hope to reach an agreement with the bandits soon. In this regard, Mizanul Islam said, we are working to quickly negotiate with the bandits and bring the sailors back safely.
According to the concerned sources, the ship is now anchored one and a half nautical miles from Jefal coast of Gadhavjiran district by the pirates. A warship was deployed by the European Union Navy on March 21 near the ship
