The Somali pirates, who have hijacked Bangladeshi ship MV Jahan Moni, remained out of contact for five days until yesterday amidst concern that the stock of drinking water and fuel in the ship might be exhausted.
Officials of the ship’s operating firm Brave Royal Ship Management Limited said this yesterday at a view-exchange meeting with the family members of 25 crewmen of the ship.
At the meeting at a local hotel, Meherul Karim, general manager of the company, said he talked to one of the pirates on December 26 last time.
He could talk to Farid Ahmed, captain of the ship, on December 24 and the captain told him that the stock of drinking water and fuel was about to finish, Meherul added.
The family members from different parts of the country came to the meeting and urged the officials to take the measures needed to bring back their relatives in the shortest possible time.
The officials, in response, requested them to have patience and assured them of taking every necessary step in this regard including payment of the ransom.
Meherul, however, refused to give details of the ransom demand.
He only said the pirates are yet to settle on the ransom amount while they need to find the right person who they can trust to buy freedom from.
Mohammed Shahjahan, managing director of SR Shipping Limited, the firm owning the ship, assured the family members that they are taking measures for safe return of the hostages.
The vessel carrying 43,150 tonnes of nickel was on its way to Greece from Indonesia on December 5 when Somali pirates hijacked it. There are 25 crewmembers and the wife of the ship’s chief engineer on board.
