The government has taken necessary measures to bring back Bangladeshi sailors of the MV Abdullah who have been abducted by pirates in the Indian Ocean.
"The government is working to get back the sailors in safe and sound condition," Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud told the media in the capital on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said the government is committed to bring back the sailors safely from the hands of Somali abductors.
He made the remark at a meeting on ferry, launch services and passenger safety during the upcoming holy Eid-ul-Fitr at the conference room of his ministry.
The information about the sailors the government has gathered is that the Bangladeshi sailors were so far safe, he said.
All 23 crew members of the Bangladeshi ship were abducted when the coal-laden ship was moving towards the UAE from Mozambique.
"We want to say that we will bring back our sailors to Bangladesh at any cost," said the state minister, adding that the government is yet to identify exactly who the pirates are.
However, the area from where the sailors were abducted is in Somali territory, he said.
"The Prime Minister has asked the foreign and other ministries concerned to look into the matter. We have taken steps in this regard," he said, replying to a question about the family members of the abducted sailors.
Asked about the possible time of getting back the sailors, he said: "It is the matter of the pirates … I cannot say the exact time."
He said that the Department of Shipping and all the wings of the maritime department and other government agencies are working to bring back the sailors home.
The state minister said that the government has also sought Indian cooperation in recovering the ship and its 23 sailors alive.
The ministry of foreign affairs and other international wings and India will work together to rescue the sailors, he added.
Replying to another question, he said the government could not make any direct contact with the pirates yet, but there are some organisations that maintain communication with them.
MV Abdullah is a ship of the country's SR Shipping, owned by the country's leading business conglomerate KSRM group.
The ship left Mapoto port in Mozambique on March 4, 2024 which was supposed to reach the United Arab Emirates on March 19, 2024. But the pirates stormed and captured the MV Abdullah.
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