‘Sir see our family’

Message from a pirate ship

Special Correspondent : The Bangladeshi ship ‘MV Abdullah’, which was captured by pirates in the Indian Ocean, is being taken to Somalia. As of 11 a.m. on Wednesday (March 12), the ship MV Abdullah was about 275 nautical miles from the coast. Moving towards Somalia. This is what the general secretary of Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers Association (BMMOA) Shakhawat Hossain said. He said, “We have been able to identify the location of the Bangladeshi ship under the control of pirates. The ship is being taken to Somalia.

Audio message
The ship’s chief officer Atiq Ullah Khan sent an audio message to the ship’s owners in the country on Tuesday (March 12) afternoon. The three-minute-34-second audio message sent by Atiq Ullah Khan reveals how the pirates took control of the ship and its aftermath.
In that audio message, Atiq Ullah Khan said, ‘Assalamualaikum sir, I am saying Chief Officer, Abdullah from the ship. The time on the ship this morning was 10:30 am. 7:30 GMT (1:30 PM Bangladesh Time). At that time a high-speed boat started coming towards us. Immediately give alarm. We all went to the bridge. Captain Sir and the ship’s second officer were on the bridge at the time. We did SOS (emergency message to save life). Tried contacting the UK MTO (UK Maritime Trade Operations). They didn’t answer the phone. Then they left. They surrounded Captain Sir and Second Officer. Called us. We all came. At this time some shots were fired. Everyone was scared. Everyone was sitting on the bridge. However, he did not touch anyone.
He also said, ‘At this time, a few others came in a speedboat. Thus 15-20 people came in the ship. After a while more pirates arrived with a large Iranian fishing boat. They took the Iranian fishing boat hostage a month ago. With this they roamed the seas for a month looking for new ships as hostages. Unfortunately, we fell ahead. Now that fishing vessel will leave. But it ran out of fuel. Now taking diesel from us. They stopped our ship. There was no damage to the ship. We didn’t get any damage either. But I am afraid.
“Our ship has 20-25 days of food water. About 200 tons. I told everyone to use them carefully. When it ends, we will be in danger. But there is a problem, we have some coal cargo on board. About 55 thousand tons. They are also a bit dangerous. Fire is also a risk. Last time I measured oxygen, I got 9-10 percent level. It has to be monitored regularly. Expert opinion should be taken if the oxygen level increases due to any reason. Make some arrangements for it, sir.’
Pray for us, sir. See our family, sir. Take comfort, sir. Assalamualaikum.’
The general secretary of Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers Association (BMMOA) Shakhawat Hossainconfirmed this audio message to Daily Industry.
He said that the chief officer of the hostage ship, Atiq Ullah Khan, sent this audio message to the owner of the ship on Tuesday. The hijacked ship has 23 sailors and crew members. So far, they are fine and safe.
Identity of 23 people on board
Rashed Mohammad Abdur of Chittagong is the master of the ship, Khan Mohammad Atiq Ullah of Chittagong is the chief officer, Chowdhury Mazharul Islam of Chittagong is the second officer, Islam Mohammad of Faridpur is the third officer. Tarekul, Hossain of Tangail is a deck cadet.
Apart from this, NaogaonShahiduzzaman ASM is the chief engineer, Khulnar Islam is the second engineer. Toufiqul Uddin of Netrokona is the third engineer. Rocon Ahmed Tanveer of Chittagong as fourth engineer, Khan Ayub of Laxmipur as engine cadet, Ibrahim KhalilUllah as electrician, Mohammad Anwarul Haque of Noakhali as Abil seaman (sailor), Md Rahman of Chittagong. Md. Hossain of Chittagong. Mohammad SajjadJoy of Natore as ordinary seaman, Md. NazmulHaque of Sirajganj. Ainul Haqueof Chittagong, Mohammad Shamsuddin of Chittagong, MdAliHossain of Barisal are as Wallers. Mosharraf Hossain Shakil of Chittagong as fireman, Md ShafiqulIslam of Chittagong as chief cook. Chittagong’s Mohammad Noor Uddin as general steward and Noakhali’s Ahmed Mohammad Saleh as fighter.
On Tuesday (March 12) around 1:30 PM, the group officials learned that the SR Shipping ship owned by Kabir Group was captured by pirates.
Mizanul Islam, media advisor of SR Shipping, said, “The ship MV Abdullah owned by Kabir Group has been seized by pirates in the Indian Ocean on its way to the United Arab Emirates with coal from Mozambique. Somali pirates took control of the ship. A total of 23 sailors were on board. They are all safe.’