CHATTOGRAM, May 11: MV Abdullah, the Bangladeshi-flagged ship released by Somali pirates after a month in captivity, is arriving in Chattogram on Monday carrying all the 23 sailors.
The ship will reach Kutubdia deep sea channel in the morning of Monday. After unloading some cargo by lighter ship, the ship will reach Outer anchorage of Chattogram Port on May 15, said Mizanul Islam, a spokesperson for Kabir Group, the parent company of the vessel owner SR Shipping.
The ship and its 23 crew members are returning home two months after being held by the pirates in the Indian Ocean.
It will unload in Kutubdia some of the 56,000 tonnes of stones it is carrying from the UAE which will take two days.
The ship will then come to Chattogram Port and unload the rest of the cargo at the outer anchorage on May 15.
It has not been decided yet whether the crew members would leave the ship in Kutubdia and come to Chattogram, or would they arrive in the port city on the ship.
Meanwhile, the ship MV Abdullah on board 23 sailors left the United Arab Emirates Port for Chattogram on April 28. The ship had been hijacked by the Somali pirates on March 12 which was released on April 14.
The ship was on its way to Mina Saqr Port in the UAE to take some goods after unloading its cargo at Al Hamriya Port in Dubai on April 27.
On March 12, Somali pirates seized control of the MV Abdullah and took the 23 sailors on board hostage. The vessel was transporting 55,000 tonnes of coal from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates at the time.
After capturing the vessel, the pirates moved it to the Somali coast and regularly changed its position. Nine days after the vessel was hijacked, the pirates contacted the owners through a third party. They were released after one month in captivity.
MV Abdullah initially anchored at the UAE port on the evening of April 22, following its release from the captivity of the pirates. Mohammad Abu Jafar, the Bangladesh Ambassador, and officials from SR Shipping, the vessels operating company, were present to welcome the crew upon their arrival.
Following the release, MV Abdullah headed to Al-Hamriya Port under the escort of an EU NAVFOR warship, navigating through approximately 480 nautical miles of high-risk areas along the Somali coast and the Red Sea before reaching the safety of the United Arab Emirates.
This voyage marks a significant step towards recovery after the harrowing pirate attack, with the crew looking forward to a safe return to their homeland.
The crew members are Captain Mohammad Abdur Rashid, Chief Officer Mohammad Atikullah Khan, Second Officer Mazharul Islam Chowdhury, Third Officer Tarequl Islam, Deck Cadet Sabbir Hossain, Chief Engineer ASM Saiduzzaman, Second Officer Toufiqul Islam, Third Engineer Rokon Uddin, Fourth Engineer Tanvir Ahmed, Engine Cadet Ayub Khan, electrician Ibrahim Khalil, seaman Md Anwarul Haque, seaman Md Asifur Rahman, seaman Sazzad Hossain, seaman Joy Mahmud, seaman Nazmul Haque, seaman Ainul Haque, oiler Mohamamd Shamsuddin, Ali Hossain, fireman Mosharraf Hossain Shakil, chief cook Shafiqul Islam, general steward Nur Uddin, and fitter Saleh Ahmed. KSRM owns 23 ships - all operating on international routes. In 2010, one of the ships, MV Zahan Moni, was hijacked and was later released by Somali pirates after providing ransom.
