Sailors of MV Abdullah to meet family today

OUR CORRESPONDENT | Published: May 14, 2024 00:17:11

COX'S BAZAR, May 13: MV Abdullah, the Bangladeshi-flagged ship freed from Somali pirates, arrived at Kutubdia Channel in the Bay of Bengal on Monday afternoon with 23 sailors on board.
The ship was captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia two months ago. The sailors will return from Kutubdia to Chittagong after noon on Tuesday.
The family members and relatives of the crew members will receive them at Chattogram's Sadarghat jetty on Tuesday.
The 23 crew members will reunite with their families 64 days after being taken hostage by pirates.
A festive mood has been prevailing among the family members of the crew members for their safe return.
Meanwhile, a new team of 23 sailors has left Chittagong to take charge of MV Abdullah. The lighter vessel MV Jahan Moni-3 left Chittagong city's Sadarghat KSRM jetty with new sailors on Monday afternoon, and the sailors of MV Abdullah will depart with that ship.
Ahmed Tanveer, engineer of MV Abdullah, said, "We reached Kutubdia coast around 4:30 pm on Monday."
Reports from agencies adds that Mizanul Islam, a spokesperson for Kabir Group, the parent company of the vessel's owner SR Shipping, said, "The sailors of the ship will arrive at the KSRM jetty in the port city's Sadarghat at 4 pm on Tuesday. Media workers will have a chance to talk to them there."
The ship is carrying 56,000 tonnes of stone. It will unload some of the stone in Kutubdia and then come to Chattogram port to unload the rest of the cargo at the outer anchorage, he said.
On March 12, Somali pirates seized control of the MV Abdullah and took the 23 sailors on board hostage. The vessel was transporting 55,000 tonnes of coal from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates at the time.
After spending 33 days in captivity, the pirates left the ship around 3 am on April 13. After that, the ship left for Al Hamriya Port in Dubai. The MV Abdullah unloaded the coal at Mina Saqr port in the UAE and took on the stone before resuming its journey to Bangladesh on May 1 after refueling at Fujairah port in the UAE. Two months after being held hostage, the 23 sailors of the MV Abdullah, all of whom are Bangladeshis, are returning home.
The captain of the ship, Mohammad Abdur Rashid, had previously said that all the sailors were doing well and were looking forward to returning home and seeing their loved ones.