Somali Pirates make first contact with owners of hijacked MV Abdullah

The Somali pirates have made first contact with owners of Bangladesh-flagged ship MV Abdullah within nine days of hijacking it from the Indian Ocean.

The owners confirmed the development to Prothom Alo today.

Mizanul Islam, media advisor of the ship’s owners Kabir Group, told Prothom Alo this afternoon, “The pirates have broached talks with us. Now an atmosphere of discussion is being created.”

Experts assume the pirates may start demanding ransoms now as they initiated the contact. If a negotiation can be reached, the 23 Bangladeshi crewmen held hostage on the ship might get released.

MV Abdullah was hijacked from 600 nautical miles off the Somali coast on the Indian Ocean on 12 March.

The hijacked ship was taken to Somali coast within three days. After changing the ship’s location twice, the pirates anchored the ship near Somalia's Gadabjiran coast on Friday.