Ship Hijack

Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Indian Navy Representational image

EU warship shadowing hijacked cargo ship 'MV Abdullah'

In a statement on Thursday, the EU Naval Force said one of its warships is shadowing the hijacked Bangladeshi ship.

Earlier on Tuesday afternoon, pirates took control of the MV Abdullah with 23 sailors from the Somali coast of the Indian Ocean on its way to the United Arab Emirates with 55,000 tons of coal from Mozambique. The area of the sea where the pirates seized the ship is 450 nautical miles (1,100 km) from Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

An EU warship deployed as part of Operation Atlanta was shadowing the ship, the EU navy said in a statement. The pirates took 23 crew members hostage. With the hostages safe, the ship heads for the coast of Somalia. Moreover, the EU's naval forces have continued to communicate with the authorities in Bangladesh and Somalia. Besides, they are trying to take the most effective action in coordination with other regional forces, including the Indian Navy, which is in the security of that area of the Indian Ocean.

British maritime security company Ambre said armed attackers took control of the vessel as it sailed from Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, to Hamria in the United Arab Emirates.

The company's media advisor Mizanul Islam told the local media of Bangladesh that the owner of the ship is the Bangladeshi company SR Shipping Lines. It is a subsidiary of Chittagong based Kabir Steel and Rerolling Mill Group.

Maritime Affairs Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rear Admiral (retd.) Md. Khurshid Alam said that it was not possible to contact the pirates who seized the ship. Because even though they are supposed to contact us, they have not responded yet. Those who are being contacted are the officials of different countries. There is an EU ship there, two of our ships 20 miles away. We are in contact with that ship.