Tanveer, the fourth engineer of the hijacked ship ‘MV Abdullah’, held hostage by Somalian pirates in the Indian Ocean, appealed to his mother Joshna Begum to rescue him.
At about 8 o’clock on Tuesday night, Tanveer told his mother over mobile phone, “Ammu, they are taking the mobile phones. I haven’t had iftar yet. If they give food, I will break the fast. Kabir contacted the uncle (of Kabir Group). Please, take steps to rescue us, Ammu.’
Thinking of her son, Joshna Begum rushed to Kabir Group office in Chattogram’s Agrabad on Wednesday (March 13) morning. Joshna Begum was crying and saying to the owner of the ship KSRM, “Where is my Manik?” Bring him back to me. Please, bring my son back to me”.
Many of the relatives of the other hostage sailors were present at KSRM office at that time. Mizanul
Islam, Media Advisor of KSRM Group said, “We are giving utmost importance to the matter. Trying to contact the pirates. They haven’t communicated us yet. They usually communicate in two to three weeks. We will do whatever it takes to bring all the 23 sailors back safely.’
Principal Officer Captain Sabbir Mahmud said, “We first came to know about the pirate attack from the ship’s deck cadet. Later, the owner of the ship also spoke to him.”
Shakhawat Hossain, General Secretary of Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers Association said, “The deck cadet of the ship sent the message on WhatsApp to Iftekharul Alam, the organizing secretary of our organization. He is in South China with the ship. He forwarded the message to our president. After this, on Tuesday evening, the Chief Engineer gave another message to the owner’s Chief Executive. They said they are safe there. The ship was being taken by pirates to the coast of Somalia. It was about 170 nautical miles off the coast of what is now Somalia.