After being freed by pirates on April 14, the Bangladeshi ship MV Abdullah arrived at the UAE port of Al Hamriyah’s outer anchorage. According to Meherul Karim, chief executive officer (CEO) of the ship’s owner company, SR Shipping, the ship arrived at the port area around 2:30 p.m. local time and anchored in the B anchorage area.
The captain of the ship has already made contact with the port authorities to request authorization to dock at a jetty, he stated. He further mentioned that a determination regarding the ship’s ability to dock at a jetty by tomorrow morning or tonight is anticipated by the end of the day.
The ship was reportedly freed after a substantial ransom was paid after being held captive for about 32 days.However, because of a secrecy agreement with the pirates, KSRM officials declined to comment on the ransom issue.Following its release, the ship traveled 1,450 nautical miles to reach the area of a port in the United Arab Emirates from the coast of Somalia, where it was being held captive.
The ship would immediately sail home after unloading its cargo (coal) at the port, according to SR Shipping.According to Shahriar Jahan Rahat, deputy managing director of KSRM, out of the 23 crew members, 21 have chosen to return home aboard the same ship.
He also mentioned that Mojaherul Islam Chowdhury, the ship’s second officer, and Mohammad Noor Uddin, the general steward, expressed interest in disembarking from the ship at the UAE port and flying home.
Rahat mentioned that they would follow the crew’s instructions and that it would take a few more weeks for the ship to arrive in Chattogram.
Around 600 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia, on March 12, the MV Abdullah was taken at gunpoint while transporting coal from Maputo, Mozambique, to Al Hamriyah, United Arab Emirates.