MV Abdullah's owner, KSRM Group, asserts that the ship and her twenty-three crew members were safely freed via talks with the pirates, drawing on lessons learned from the 2011 hostage crisis with their ship "Jahan Moni."
"In 2011, the Jahan Moni, our other ship, was taken over. We had not rescued a ship before, so it took us a long time. But by drawing on that experience, we managed to save MV Abdullah this time,'' stated Meherul Karim, CEO of KSRM Group, during a news conference on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. in the company's Agrabad Goasail Danga headquarters in Chattogram.
He continued by saying that every member of the ship's crew and sailors was safe. Nobody was hurt. However, Meherul Karim remained silent when questioned about the ransom.
The 23 sailors on board were set free by the Somali pirates earlier on Saturday night at around 12 am. At 3:45 am, the ship's owner informed the Bangladeshi media that the ship had been released.
Meherul described the ship's rescue operation as follows: "Since the ship was stolen, we have been watching its whereabouts nonstop. Every now and then we checked to see where it was being transported. Not too long after the hostage-taking, we received a message from a pirate who spoke English. We also began corresponding on our end, adhering to all global conventions. MV Abdullah was released in this manner following a fruitful month-long dialogue."
"We took videos of every crew member on our ship two days ago to confirm their safety," he continued. Every guideline was adhered to. On board, there were sixty-five pirates. The captain of the ship told me that the pirates had gotten off the ship in a speedboat on Saturday morning at around three in the morning."
The CEO of KSRM apologized to reporters when they questioned him about the ransom. There is nothing I can tell you about a ransom. On this matter, we are in agreement with everyone. I am obligated to uphold the deal.
At the press conference, Shahariar Jahan Rahat, the Deputy Managing Director of KSRM Group, stated, "We have to keep some things confidential." We are unable to support piracy. He continued by saying that it will gain legitimacy once the ransom money's sum is made public.
According to Shahariar, MV Abdullah will arrive in Dubai on April 19 or 20. After that, the crew and sailors would travel by ship or airplane back to Bangladesh. He stated that the crew and sailors would be consulted before deciding how to get back to the United States.
Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, the state minister for shipping, stated during a press conference earlier on Sunday that the images and stories circulating concerning ransom are false. Negotiations and intense international pressure led to the sailors' release. Their return could take a duration of 15 to 20 days.
