Bangladeshi MV Abdullah hijacked by Somali pirates

Kanta Roy: CSB NEWS USA DESK,

The ship named ‘Golden Hawk’ joined the fleet of the Bangladesh CSR Maritime Group and was named ‘MV Abdullah’. The ship, with 23 crew members, was hijacked.

Somali pirates seized control of MV Abdullah, a ship of the Kabir Group in Chittagong, following a European Union (EU) ship. The EU maritime force has confirmed this in a statement yesterday. The statement also said that the crew members are safe.

On Tuesday afternoon, at Bangladesh time, Somali pirates took control of MV Abdullah in the Indian Ocean. The ship was heading from Mozambique to Dubai.

The ship was owned by the Kabir Group in Chittagong. SR Shipping Limited, a subsidiary of the group, was operating this ship. Twenty-three Bangladeshi sailors on board are now under the control of pirates.

The news of the Bangladeshi ship being hijacked was first reported by the United Kingdom’s armed forces. They said that at the time of the hijacking, MV Abdullah was located about 1,100 kilometers or about 700 miles east of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

In that area, the EU conducts an operation called ‘Operation Atalanta’ to prevent piracy and ensure the safety of maritime traffic. According to a statement from the EU Maritime Security Force yesterday, within the scope of this operation, a ship has been assigned to follow the Bangladeshi commercial ship that has been hijacked.

British Maritime Security Company has announced that 20 armed Somali pirates hijacked the Bangladeshi ship on its way from Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, to Hargeisa, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Earlier, on December 5, 2010, Somali pirates had captured another ship of the Kabir Group, MV Jahangir Mani. At that time, there were 25 sailors-crew and chief engineer’s wife on the ship. 100 days after the abduction, on March 13, 2011, the pirates released the hostages.