NN Online Report: The Somali pirates who hijacked Bangladeshi-flagged MV Abdullah on 12 March contacted the owners of the vessel for the first time today (20 March).
“The pirates have initiated contact through a third party. An environment for discussions is now being established,” said Mehedul Karim, CEO of KSRM Group.
“We will now move forward to secure the release of the hostages,” he added.
People familiar with the developments believe the pirates may demand a ransom now that the contact has been initiated. Negotiating could lead to an agreement that secures the release of the ship and its crew.
Captain Shakhawat Hossain, general secretary of the Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers’ Association said, “The initiation of contact is a positive development, as it ends a period of uncertainty.
“The pirates have likely made or will make their demands known, and an agreement will be reached between them and the ship owners. The quicker the negotiation, the sooner the crew will be released.”
The ship owners said they had already begun preparing various negotiation processes through mediators before the pirates made the first contact.
On 12 March, pirates hijacked the Bangladesh-flagged ship MV Abdullah 600 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean.
Within three days, the ship, with its crew, was taken to the coast of Somalia.
