The hijacked Bangladeshi ship Abdullah and its crew were released from Somalia in the early hours of Sunday after US$5 million was paid as ransom.
The ship is now returning to the United Arab Emirates, before the crew members fly to Bangladesh, to meet their nearest and dearest ones who have been anxiously waiting for them since the ship was hijacked on 12 March in the Indian Ocean by a group of Somalian pirates.
The ship was heading towards Al Hamriyah Port of UAE carrying coal from Mozambique’s Maputo port before being attacked by armed Somalian pirates and hijacked.
After the ransom was given and the ship freed, Somalian police arrested eight pirates as they landed on the shore, local media reported.
Two Navy ships of the European Union have been escorting the ship from Somalian water, shows a photo released by EU Naval Force.
“Operation ATALANTA confirms the release of the 23 crew members of the Merchant Vessel ABDULLAH and the ship,” the European agency said in a statement.
“Operation ATALANTA was the first actor to respond to the hijacking of the vessel on 12 March, where one ATALANTA vessel, started shadowing the alleged pirated vessel. Throughout the 32 days of captivity of the sailors, Operation ATALANTA has been actively engaged monitoring the situation,” added EU Naval Force.
The ship owner did not disclose how much money was paid as ransom. However, a Somalian daily namely Somali Online in a post in X said the pirates were given US$5 million approximately to free the ship and the seafarers.
The money was thrown near the hijacked ship on Saturday afternoon in three bags. The pirates left the ship eight hours after they received the money.
A representative of the ship owner said the ship was freed in line with the legal measures in Kenya, Somalia, US and UK laws.
Sharar Nayel
Asia Correspondent
