Although the move to rescue the Bangladeshi ship hijacked by the Somali pirates is on, the possibility of its immediate recovery is very thin, sources in the shipping department said.
The authorities are, however, optimistic about rescuing the vessel—MV Jahan Moni—of SR Shipping keeping the crews unhurt, saying that the process generally takes time, the sources said.
‘We are hopeful to rescue the ship, but it may takes time,’ the Director General of shipping department Bazlur Rahman told New Age on Saturday, adding that as per their track records the Somali pirates generally do not torture the crew.
Sources in the department said that different countries and international maritime agencies so failed to curb piracy by the Somalia pirates which encouraged them to continue the ship hijacking with impunity.
The Somalia pirates hijacked a total of 33 ships keeping some 400 crews hostage this year. Some ships are still in their grab for the last 10 months, said a shipping department source.
He also said that implementation of International Ship and Ports Facility Security code by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to ensure safe movement of vessels was not enough to ensure security of ships on the high seas.
Shipping industry sources called for new initiatives to ensure security of the ocean going vessels on the high seas.
The owner of the SR Shipping, Mohammad Shahajahan, said that they did not know the where about of the ship, but requested the prime minister and the shipping minister for taking urgent measures to rescue the ship and its crew.
‘We do not know any development of the situation. We have nothing to do other than depending on the government,’ Shahajahan told New Age on Saturday.
He said that the family members of the crews formed a human chain in front the local press club demanding immediate release of the vessel.
He, however, denied any kind of communication either with the crews of the ships or the abductors, although the media, quoting Shahajahan, had reported that the Somali pirates on Monday demanded a ransom of nine million dollars to free the hijacked Bangladeshi vessel and its crew.
The vessel, MV Jahan Moni, with 26 crew on board including the wife of its chief engineer, was captured by armed pirates on December 5 while the ship was carrying mineral ore from Indonesia to Greece.
The Somali pirates had captured the ship from the high sea, about 80 nautical miles west of the Indian port of Cochin.
