Bangladesh
Ship Hijack MV Abdullah: Indian Navy releases four pirates' photos
Dhaka, March 16: The Indian Navy has released pictures of four Somali pirates aboard the Bangladeshi ship MV Abdullah, along with 23 sailors.
The image was released on Friday by the Indian Navy spokesperson's X (formerly Twitter) account. The photo shows the pirates patrolling the MV Abdullah. All of whom have heavy weapons in their hands.
According to the post, an Indian warship and a long-range maritime patrol aircraft are stationed in the vicinity to assist the Bangladeshi ship MV Abdullah, held hostage by Somali pirates.
The Indian Navy said in a statement on Friday that the Indian Navy deployed the Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft LRMP P-81 on Tuesday (March 12) after receiving information about the hijacking of the MV Abdullah. Later the Indian Navy deployed a warship. The warship began monitoring the hostage vessel on Thursday (March 14). That morning the Indian warship successfully intercepted the Bangladeshi vessel MV Abdullah.
Later, the warship remained close to MV Abdullah until it reached Somalia's territorial waters to ensure the safety of the hijacked crew members (Bangladeshi nationals). Meanwhile, the EU Navy is also following the hostage Bangladeshi ship under Operation Atlanta. On Friday morning, EU navies said visual information they had collected showed that at least 12 pirates were currently on board the vessel.
EU navies say Somali pirates seized the Maltese-flagged bulk cargo ship Rouen in December. They may have used the Maltese ship to seize a Bangladeshi-flagged cargo ship off the coast of Somalia three days ago.
