Hijacked vessel anchors near Somalian coast

The pirates have taken Bangladeshi vessel MV Abdullah and the 23 crews abroad near the Somalian coast. The vessel, which was hijacked by the pirates from the Indian Ocean, anchored some 20 nautical miles away from the Garacad anchorage area.

Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers Association confirmed the location of the vessel based on the information provided by London and Kuala Lumpur-based piracy observation agency International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

General secretary of the agency Shakhawat Hossain said the pirates have anchored the ship some 20 nautical miles away from Garacad. The owners have not been able to contact the pirates yet.

A representative of the owners also confirmed the development to Prothom Alo. According to the website of ‘Shipfix’, which monitors the locations of the ship, the vessel was moving at a speed of 10 nautical miles per hour. The vessel was spotted near the Somalian coast according to the latest updates.

The pirates from Somalia took control of the vessel on its way from the Maputo port of Mozambique to UAE at around 1:30 pm Bangladesh time. The ship is carrying some 50,000 tonnes of coal. As per the data of the UK-based Maritime Trade Operation, the ship was some 600 nautical miles east to Somalia capital Mogadishu in the Indian Ocean at the time of being hijacked.

The ship is owned by Kabir Group’s sister concern SR Shipping Limited. The ship was added to the convoy some three months ago.