Friday, November 22, 2024

Somali pirates free 26 Bangladeshis, ship after 99 days

Somali pirates released Bangladeshi ship MV Jahan Moni along with its 26 crew on Monday morning, 99 days after hijacking the vessel from Arabian Sea on December 5, 2010.
‘The pirates left the vessel at about 10:00am Bangladesh time and it sailed for Salalah port of Oman at about 10:30am,’ said Meherul Karim, general manager of the ship’s operator Brave Royal Ship Management Limited, at a briefing.
The company’s managing director, Mohammed Shahjahan, head of crisis management cell Captain Golam Mostafa and marine superintendent Captain Zaidi were present at the briefing.
Meherul said the ship was expected to reach Salalah, its port of refuge, where its 25 crew and wife of a crewman would undergo medical check-up before flying to Chittagong on March 22.
He said another group of crewmen would reach Salalah by this time to take charge of the ship.
The Bangladesh embassy in Muscat is organising their repatriation. Bangladeshi doctors staying in Salalah have been contacted for providing the crew with emergency medical service and advice after they reach the port.
Meherul said that a group of 26 crewmen had already been appointed to operate the vessel from Salalah adding that seven officials of the company would fly to Oman along with them by Wednesday.
‘Bangladeshi crew cannot be changed in Oman as per the rules of that country, but we are replacing the crew of Jahan Moni under a special arrangement with the help of the government,’ he said.
He said they had contacted the pirates on February 22 to secure the release of the crew and their captors on February 28 sent a reply agreeing to free the vessel along with the hostages.
‘The pirates also sent us pictures of the crew members on March 10 to assure us that the hostages were in good health,’ he added.
Mohammed Shahjahan expressed gratitude to prime minister Sheikh Hasina as well as the foreign and shipping ministries for the government’s all-out cooperation in securing the release of the vessel and its crew.
‘We have been able to secure the release of the ship and its crew in 99 days after it was hijacked, thanks to the frantic diplomatic efforts of the government,’ he said adding that a number of vessels hijacked by Somali pirates 300 or 350 days ago had not been freed as yet.
He said the ship’s operator incurred a loss of $2 million due to the hijack of the ship, but denied having paid any ransom to secure the release of the vessel and its crew.  Asked if the government had paid the ransom, he said he was not aware of it.
Families of the crewmen back home heaved a sigh of relief after receiving the news of the release of the vessel.
Somali pirates hijacked MV Jahan Moni with its 25 crew and the wife of its chief engineer in the Arabian Sea on December 5 on its way to Greece from Indonesia.
The vessel anchored off Somali coast on December 11 while the pirates contacted the officials of the owning company on December 12 for the first time when several crew members were also allowed to talk with their family members.
The ship’s crew released by the pirates are chief engineer of the vessel Matiul Mawla, 61, his wife Rukhsana Gulzer, 52, second engineer Mohammad Main Uddin, 26, electrical engineer Sahabu Alam, 43, Fakhrul Islam, 63, fireman Mohammed Elias, 32, deck fitter Mohammed Idris, 38, and engine fitter Mohammed Mohiuddin, 32, chief officer Abu Naser, 31, second officer GM Noor-e-Alam, 28, third engineer Subrata Kumar Mandal, 44, third officer Kamrul Hossain, 45, deck cadet Shariful Islam, 27, captain Farid Ahmed, 56, engine cadet Shahriar Rabbi, 22, bosun Ruhul Amin, 51, steward Rabiul Islam, 25, AB seaman Abdul Fattah, 51, Kibria Ahmed, 25,  fourth engineer Tariqul Islam, 31, AB seaman Emdad Hossain, 50, AB seaman Nazim Uddin, 35, chief cook Moshiur Rahman, 32, general steward Jashim Uddin, 30, junior electric engineer Abul Hossain,
27, and engineer Abul Basher, 27.

 

With the Input From New Age

Related News

JU student lost life after being hit by battery-run rickshaw on campus

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A first-year student of Jahangirnagar University died after she was hit by a battery-powered rickshaw on campus yesterday evening. Afsana Karim was a student of marketing and a resident of Begum Khaleda Zia Hall. Her parents live in Sherpur. In security camera footage, Afsana was seen walking near the arts building ... Read more

Education must foster creativity : Professor Yunus

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus said on Wednesday (20 November) that Bangladesh’s education system must foster creativity to create a generation of entrepreneurs. “We should reform the education system in a way that it creates a generation of entrepreneurs. We need education, which helps students become creative people. Our young people ... Read more

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims observed

News Desk : dhakamirror.com World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims was observed in Bangladesh on Sunday as elsewhere in the world. To mark the day, different government and non-government organisations held different programmes on the day. The day is commemorated on the third Sunday of November each year. Dhaka North City Corporation on ... Read more

Chief Adviser opens waiting lounge at Dhaka airport

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Dr. Muhammad Yunus has opened a new waiting lounge for expatriate workers and their families at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. The lounge was inaugurated after his return from the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. Dr. Yunus mentioned that he had previously opened a lounge for expatriate workers before ... Read more

Saudi Arabia opens doors to nurses from Bangladesh in landmark move

There are only a few dozen clinicians among nearly 30 lakh Bangladeshi expatriates in Saudi Arabia Kamran Siddiqui Highlights Saudi Arabia has begun recruiting Bangladeshi nurses, marking a significant milestone in overseas employment, as the Gulf nation traditionally employs lower-wage, less-skilled workers from the country. The recruitment process, targeting an initial intake of 500 nurses, ... Read more

DU changes admission test for Ijtema, ‘Ka’ unit exam to February 15

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The General Admission Committee of Dhaka University (DU) has rescheduled the “Ka” unit (science) admission test to February 15 due to the Biswa Ijtema. Previously, the exam was scheduled for February 1. “We decided to defer the ‘Ka’ unit test date as it coincides with Biswa Ijtema,” said Professor Mamun Ahmed, ... Read more

Yunus opens dedicated lounge for migrant workers at Dhaka airport

News Desk : dhakamirror.com In a heartfelt acknowledgment of their invaluable contributions, the country is set to honour its expatriate workers with a new lounge at the Dhaka airport designed to make their journeys more comfortable. Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Monday inaugurated a special lounge for the country’s migrant workers at Hazrat Shahjalal ... Read more

Khaleda’s 10-year jail term stayed by SC

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Monday stayed a 2018 High Court ruling that had extended Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia’s prison sentence from five years to 10 years in the Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Orphanage Trust case. A three-member Appellate Division bench led by Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam ... Read more

JnU students end protests after demands met

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Jagannath University students on Tuesday withdrew their movement, for the construction of the university’s second campus, after the interim government accepted their demands. AKM Rakib, an organiser of the movement, told reporters after a meeting held at the education ministry on the day that they were withdrawing the movement. ‘The government ... Read more

Applications for school admission begin

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Admission applications for grades one to nine in both public and private schools have started this morning. Students can start applying online from 11am. The application process will continue until 5pm on November 30, reports The Business Standard. After the application period ends, students will be chosen through a digital lottery, ... Read more

Grandchildren of deceased government employees now eligible to receive pensions, gratuity

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Government employees’ pensions and retirement benefits have been modified by the government, allowing their grandchildren to receive them in the event that no other eligible nominee is available. In this regard, a notification was released by the finance ministry today, November 10. The amendment comes amid a legal complication in this ... Read more

Entry exam for MBBS on January 17 and BDS on February 28

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The entrance exam for MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) 2024-2025 academic year will be held on January 17, while the BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery ) is scheduled for February 28. The dates were finalised at a meeting today at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare at ... Read more

BMD Winter outlook: Winter going to be colder this year

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Eight to ten mild to moderate cold waves could hit the country in the upcoming winter, a Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) official stated yesterday. Two to three of those waves could turn into severe cold waves, with temperatures likely to drop as low as 4 degree Celsius, in the northwestern, northeastern, ... Read more

Govt made the decision to revoke Cyber Security Act

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh’s interim government advisory council, on Thursday, made a policy decision to repeal the controversial Cyber Security Act. This decision was made at a meeting held at the office of chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus in Tejgaon, Dhaka. After the meeting, environment, forests and climate change adviser Syeda Rizwana Hassan confirmed ... Read more

Everyone must work together to save rivers: Rizwana

News Desk : dhakamirror.com “We must save rivers and stop pollution caused by mills and industries. However, the entire responsibility cannot be imposed on the government. Everyone must work together,” said Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan yesterday. “In a democracy, everyone has a stake. Preservation of the environment will only be successful when everybody participates,” ... Read more

Actress Shomi Kaiser arrested

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Actress Shomi Kaiser has been arrested from Uttara in the capital, said the police. Uttara West police station officer-in-charge Hafizur Rahman stated that she was arrested from a house in Sector 4 of Uttara at around 1:00 am on Wednesday. An on-duty officer at the Uttara (West) police station confirmed that ... Read more

Ijtema scheduled for two phases from January 31 to February 9: home adviser

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bishwa Ijtema is set to take place in two phases from January 31 to February 9 next year, as announced today by Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury. The first phase will be held from January 31 to February 2, with the second phase from February 7 to ... Read more

Bangladesh sent 9.3 lakh workers abroad since Jan

BSS With sincere efforts by different stakeholders, especially the government, Bangladesh sent abroad 9.3 lakh workers with jobs from January to 2 November this year. “The trend of overseas employment is satisfactory so far and we are expecting to send more remittance senders with jobs this year,” Director of Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training ... Read more

Policymakers unaware of people’s struggles as they don’t rely on public transport, says Road Safety Foundation

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Those responsible for public transport policymaking in the country do not use public transport in the capital, so they do not understand the sufferings people endure, Road Safety Foundation (RSF) Chairman AI Mahbub Uddin Ahmed said today (2 November). The chairman of the Road Safety Foundation (RSF), AI Mahbub Uddin Ahmed, ... Read more

Job aspirants can now try 4 times for BCS exam

News Desk : dhakamirror.com From now a job seekers will be able to sit for Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examinations up to a maximum of four times. This decision was taken at a meeting of the advisory council chaired by chief adviser Dr Mohammad Yunus at his office on Thursday, said a press release from ... Read more