‘Ammu, make arrangements to free us’

Tanvir Ahmed, the fourth engineer of the ship named MV Abdullah which is held hostage by pirates at the Indian Ocean, spoke to his mother Josna Begum over the phone for the last time at 8:00 pm on Tuesday.

Tanvir said, “Ammu (mother) they (pirates) are taking away our phones. We are yet to have iftar. We will have iftar only if they give us food. Contact the officials of the Kabir Group. Please do something to get us released at any cost.”

There has been no contact with Tanvir since then. Josna Begum rushed to the office of the Kabir Group in the Agrabad area of Chattogram city after speaking to her son. Prothom Alo spoke to her there. She was urging the officials to bring back her son at any cost.

Speaking to Prothom, Josna Begum said, “I spoke to my son before they (pirates) snatched away the mobile from him. The pirates are taking the ship towards Somalia. However, the pirates haven’t yet hit anybody. My son said there was not enough drinking water on the ship. He told me to pray for the sailors.”

Families of other sailors, who were on that ship held hostage by the pirates, thronged to the office of the Kabir Group. This correspondent spoke to them.

The pirates from Somalia took control of the ship on its way from the Maputo port of Mozambique to UAE at around 1:30 pm Bangladesh time. The ship is carrying some 55,000 tonnes of coal. All the sailors on the ship are Bangladeshis. The ship is owned by Kabir Group’s sister concern SR Shipping Limited.

Jannatul Ferdaus, wife of Nuruddin, one of the sailors on the ship, also came to the Kabir Group head office after hearing the news.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, she said, “I spoke to Nuruddin on Tuesday evening. He told me the pirates were taking the ship towards the Somalia coast. There were around 50 pirates on the ship at the time. Later, he sent me a voice message saying they would kill the sailors one by one if they don’t get the money they want.”

Jannatul Ferdaus told Prothom Alo, “I don’t want any money or any job. I just want the government to ensure everyone returns safely.”

Shafiqul Islam is one of the sailors on the ship. His wife is expecting. His brother came to the Kabir Group office for inquiry upon receiving the news. Shafiqul told them over the phone not to be worried.

Sailor Ainul Haque’s mother Lutfa Ara Begum also rushed to the office of the Kabir Group and told the officials to bring back her son at any cost.

The owners of the ship are yet to make any contact with the pirates.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Kabir Group advisor Mizanul Islam told Prothom Alo, “We have talked to the sailors on the ship. They are unharmed and safe. The ship is completely under the control of the pirates and it is heading towards the Somalian coast.”

He further said, “The pirates will press their demand after taking the ships to their own territory. They haven’t contacted us yet. But we are trying hard. We already contacted the families of the sailors. We are trying to assure them that we are beside them. We have faced a similar situation in the past also. We were able to bring back the sailors unharmed after 100 days. So there is nothing to worry about.”

*This report appeared on the online version of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ashish Basu