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MV Abdullah and its 23 sailors were released after 32 days of being held hostage by Somali pirates around 3 pm Bangladesh time on Saturday. Even if the sailors are released, it may take at least ten days to reach the country.
MV Abdullah will arrive in Dubai on April 19. It will take another four-five days to complete some work there. SR Shipping informed this information at a press conference at the office of Kabir Group, the owner of the ship, in Agrabad, Chittagong on Sunday (April 14).
In the press conference, Deputy Managing Director (DAD) of SR Shipping, Shahriar Jahan Rahat said that the sailors will leave for the country after 4-5 days after completing all the formalities after reaching Dubai. However, it is not decided whether they will return home by plane or by ship.
After the release, the ship's chief officer Atiqullah Khan made the first post from his Facebook ID on Sunday (April 14) at 2:15 pm.
After the release, he posted some pictures of his joy and excitement and wrote, Alhamdulillah. Thanks to SR Shipping for the incredible effort. Thanks to friends, family and all well wishers who prayed for us throughout the journey. Thank you EUNAVFOR Operation Atlanta. Thank you Bangladesh. Love you and Missing you Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, after the release, the MV Abdullah ship left Somalia for Dubai, the owner said.
When asked about the alternative seamen, Mehrul Karim, CEO of SR Shipping said in the press conference that the alternative crew has not been prepared. Because it has not yet been decided how the sailors of MV Abdullah will return. The rest of the steps will be taken according to their decision.
The CEO of SR Shipping said, MV Jahan Moni was carrying goods en route to Greece. After the release, the sailors went to Qatar with the ship. But the goods were supposed to be redeemed in Europe. So substitute sailors have to go. MV Abdullah's products will be released in Dubai. From there the ship is also supposed to return home. Now the sailors will decide how they will return home.
Earlier, at the beginning of the press conference, Deputy Managing Director of SR Shipping, Shahriar Hasan Rahat, said that the issue was not brought forward for strategic reasons as it was sensitive. The New Year has come, the sailors have been freed, it is a great joy for us.
He said that on March 12, the pirates seized the ship at gunpoint and held the sailors hostage. Since then I was tensed about the safety of sailors.
When asked why there was no armed guard on the MV Abdullah ship, Shahriar said that the route the ship was passing was beyond the double range of the high risk area. 200 nautical miles is the high risk area. The ship was traveling at 600 nautical miles.
Incidentally, on the afternoon of March 12, MV Abdullah, a ship owned by SR Shipping of Kabir Group of Bangladesh, fell into the hands of Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. The ship was carrying 55,000 tonnes of coal from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates. All of its 23 sailors are Bangladeshis.
Bangladesh /FM
