Food is running low on Bangladeshi ships held hostage by pirates off the coast of Somalia. For this reason, after two weeks of hostage taking, the bandits started bringing food to the ship named MV Abdullah from shore. The news was confirmed on Wednesday (March 27) by Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers Association, the organization of the ship's owners and sailors.
The sailors had 25 days of food when the pirates took the ship hostage on March 12. 16 days of hostage-taking have already passed. At this time, along with the sailors, the pirates also shared the ship's food.
Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers Association is maintaining communication with the ship's sailors. Captain Anam Chowdhury, president of the organization, said that bandits bring food for their own benefit. They have received news that Tehari food was also brought in the MV Abdullah ship.
Earlier in 2010, the hijacked MV Jahan Mani was also supplied by pirates after it ran out of food. After about 100 days, the ship with the sailors was freed. Mohammad Idris, a sailor on that ship, said that after taking hostages, the frozen food was spoiled because the ship's refrigerator was closed at one stage. At the end of the hostage-taking, when the food ran out, the bandits used to supply food from the shore.
Normally, a day's worth of food is kept aboard the ship for a little longer than the days it will take to reach the destination. The hostage Bangladeshi ship was captured by pirates in the Indian Ocean en route from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates. This journey took 15 days. As such, the ship did not have much food for the day.
Mizanul Islam, media adviser of Kabir Group, the owner of the ship, said that the hostage sailors are healthy. There is nothing to worry about if the sailors are running out of food on board because bandits are bringing food to the ship from the shore.
Owners said negotiations with the pirates are continuing to bring back the hostage Bangladeshi ship and sailors. The owners hope to reach an agreement with the bandits soon.
When asked about this, Mizanul Islam said, "We are working to quickly negotiate with the bandits and bring the sailors back safely."
According to the concerned sources, the ship is now anchored one and a half nautical miles from Jefal coast of Gadhavjiran district by the pirates. A warship was deployed by the European Union Navy on March 21 near the ship.
BBC Somalia reported that Somalia's Puntland police are conducting an operation to cut off communication from the hostage ship to the ground.
At first, the pirates kept the sailors in a cell as the pressure increased from both the water and the land side. However, after confirming that the Bangladeshi owner of the ship is not in favor of any military operation, that is, the warship of the European Union will not carry out any operation, now the pirates are allowing the sailors to stay in the cabin.
A leader of the seamen's organization said that it depends on the bandits when the reconciliation will happen because if they persist in their demands, it will delay reaching a compromise. However, considering the current situation, there may be a quick compromise.