Says ship’s operating firm
The hijacked Bangladeshi ship MV Jahan Moni was expected to reach Somali coast early today.
Officials of Brave Royal Shipping Management Limited, the operating firm of the ship, said they spotted the ship around 60 nautical miles off the coast around 7:00pm yesterday.
They were monitoring the ship’s position through satellite.
Md Firoj Alam, an executive (safety and security) officer of Brave Royal, told The Daily Star the ship was heading towards Somali coast at 11.3 nautical miles (app. 20 km) per hour.
“If the ship heads at this speed, it should reach Somali coast by 2:30am to 3:00am tomorrow [today],” he said.
The ship was hijacked with 25 crew and wife of the chief engineer on last Sunday. Despite repeated attempts, the crew members could not be contacted.
Officials of SR Shipping Limited, the owning company of the hijacked ship, and its sister concern Brave Royal Shipping Management Limited held a meeting to chalk out the negotiation with the pirates, if they contact after reaching the shore.
It is expected that the hijackers will contact the authorities concerned asking ransom in exchange of the hostages after reaching the coast.
