Pirates of hijacked MV Abdullah contact owners

The pirates, who hijacked Bangladesh-flagged cargo ship MV Abdullah, have contacted the owners of the vessel for the first time on Wednesday.

The ship was seized on March 12 with 23 crew members on board.

The vessel is owned by KSRM Group. The group’s media adviser Mizanul Islam said, "The pirates talked to us for the first time on Wednesday after the ship anchored off the coast of Somalia. Their designated representative made contact to us. I can't say what kinds of talks were exchanged. But the sailors are all healthy and safe. We are working to free them.”

Meanwhile, the pirates anchored the ship one and a half nautical miles off the coast of Somalia.

The Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers Association has provided information on the location of the ship after getting information from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), a water piracy monitoring organisation based in London and Kuala Lumpur.

The ship, carrying with 58,000 tonnes of coal, was sailing from Maputo in Mozambique to Al Hamriyah in the UAE.