"Our ship has been attacked. The ship is being hijacked and taken to the coast of Somalia. We are all being held in a room. We have not been beaten. By the grace of Allah, we are doing well, so far, please pray!"

These were the words of ASM Saiduzzaman, chief engineer of the hijacked MV Abdullah ship in the Indian Ocean, to his wife Mehreen Safrin Zaman by phone on Tuesday night, March 12. On Tuesday at 1:30 pm Bangladesh time, Somali pirates boarded and took control of the ship en route from Maputo port in Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates. The ship is carrying 58,000 tonnes of coal. All 23 sailors on board are Bangladeshis. The Bangladeshi-flagged ship is owned by SR Shipping Limited, an associate company of Chattogram's Kabir Group, popularly known as KSRM.

On Wednesday morning, a recorded voice message came to Mehreen's phone again. In that message, a voice is heard saying, "Sir is fine. Sir is sleeping after eating Sehri. If you have any messages, send an SMS to this number."

MV Abdullah anchored at Hobyo port in Somalia on Thursday afternoon, said Director General of the Department of Shipping is Commodore Mohammad Maksud Alam.

"However, none of the pirates has contacted the owners and made any demand to them."

He also assumed that the pirates will contact Bangladesh authorities soon.

Secretary of Maritime Affairs Unit (MAU) Rear Admiral (Retd) Khurshed Alam on Thursday said the 23 Bangladeshi sailors of the Bangladeshi ship MV Abdullah, which was hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, are in good health and they will not deviate from their goal to bring the ship back with the sailors safely.

Talking to reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he mentioned about the unharmed rescue of all the Bangladeshi sailors working in the previously kidnapped domestic ship 'Jahan Moni' and Malaysian ship 'Al-Bedo'.

Asked whether the pirates demanded ransom, he said if the news of ransom has been published in the media, it is imaginary.

"They (pirates) have neither demanded any ransom from us yet, nor have they contacted us about the ransom," Secretary Alam said.

He said there are risky shipping routes but the ship did not take the high risk route.

"Still the pirates were waiting or there is a difference of opinion. The pirates took over the ship and left for Somalia, anchoring near Somalia early today (Thursday). The pirates haven't contacted us yet," Alam said.

The MAU Secretary said they have previous experience in this regard.

"A ship named Jahan Moni faced such an incident in 2010. After 100 days we were able to bring back the ship with all the sailors," he said.

Besides, when the Malaysian ship 'Al-Bedo' fell into the hands of pirates, there were seven Bangladeshis, two Iranians, three Indians, two Pakistanis and five Sri Lankan sailors.

But the Malaysian owner did not take any responsibility and the ship was stuck, it sank after two and a half years, some lives were lost.

"We worked throughout and after about three years and four months we negotiated with the Kenyan army and rescued the Bangladeshi sailors unharmed," Alam said.

About the government's efforts, he said, "We are sincerely trying. Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in constant communication with all parties including the Minister of State for Shipping, the Director General of the Department of Shipping and ship owners."

The Marine Affairs Unit Secretary said they still do not know what the pirates are demanding.

Families in the lurch

Mehreen, worried about her husband Engineer Saiduzzaman, said: "The work of the ship is very risky. Sometimes when he goes deep into the sea, there is no contact with him for 15-20 days. I used to worry then. I would only get in touch with him when he came back within the network. But this time the matter is very worrying. They have fallen into the hands of pirates. I see in the news that if they don't get the ransom, they will kill them one by one."

"I am spending my time in extreme anxiety in this situation. I can't go anywhere for help with my one-year-old daughter and ailing in-laws. Our appeal to the government and the shipping company authorities is to somehow rescue my husband from the pirates."

On Wednesday afternoon, a UNB correspondent went to the house of Engineer Saiduzzaman in the RG Naogaon area of Naogaon city and spoke to his wife, father Abdul Qaiyum and mother Kahinur Begum.

Qaiyum, former principal of Sapahar Government College in Nawabganj and former president of Nawabganj District Press Club, said that he received a call from his son's number yesterday (Tuesday) at 3:30 pm.

"He called and said that their ship had been attacked by pirates. The ship is being taken to the coast of Somalia. After that, he sent a voice SMS from another number last night and this morning. He said in the voice SMS that he is doing well. The pirates did not beat him. They are all being held in a room. They are not being given much water to drink as there is a shortage of food and water on the ship."

Qaiyum expressed his anger and said, "The ship was attacked by pirates due to the negligence of the shipping company. They carry crores of taka worth of goods, but they do not employ any armed guards on that ship. If there were (armed) coast guards, the pirates would not have been able to attack so easily. This is not the first time that a ship of this company has been attacked by pirates."

Saiduzzaman has been working as a marine engineer for 20 years on ships of various domestic and foreign companies.

Mina Azmin, wife of the chief officer of the ship, Mohammad Atique Ullah Khan, had to be admitted to a hospital after fainting repeatedly.

Atique sent an audio message to his wife around iftar time on Tuesday (March 12, 2024).

Atique's audio message said, "They are taking our mobile phones away. The bottom line is, if the money is not given, they will kill us one by one. The sooner the money is given, the sooner they will let us go. Please, get this message out."

Atique is from Chandanaish upazila of Chattogram. He lives in the Nandan Kanan area of the port city with his mother, wife and three daughters.

His elderly mother Shahnoor Begum and children broke down in tears when this correspondent went to their home last night. Shahnoor Begum was crying and hugging a framed picture of Atique.

"A day feels like a year! I was told that we'll have to wait a few months to get our son back. How will I live with this sorrow?" - Shahnoor Begum wailed.

With her son held hostage by Somali pirates and daughter-in-law unwell, Shahnoor Begum was visibly worried. She said, "In his last voice message, my son told my daughter-in-law, 'If they don't give the money, they will kill us.' She has been ill ever since she got that message."

Shahnoor Begum has urged the Prime Minister to intervene to rescue the 23 sailors, including her son, who are being held hostage by the pirates. "My son is our only support; other hostages are also like that to their families. Our Prime Minister is a mother! She will understand the pain of a mother! She should take quick action on this issue so that our sons are returned to us safe and sound!"

Atique's friend Julkar Naim, who came to the house, said, "On Tuesday afternoon at 4:30 pm, Atique sent me a voice message. He said, 'Pray for me, take care of my family.' There has been no contact since then."