MV Abdullah: EU naval force keeping watch on hijacked ship

The European Union’s warships in the Somali piracy-prone region are watching the hijacked Bangladesh-flagged ship.

The EU Naval Force Operation Atalanta in the Western Indian Ocean posted on X, formerly Twitter, three photos and a video clip of the warships monitoring the hijacked vessel from a distance.

One photo posted at 12:18am (Bangladesh time) yesterday shows a helicopter flying around the MV Abdullah, which is anchored close to the Godobjiraan coast of Somalia.

“Since November 2023, multiple incidents related to piracy have taken place in the area of operations. Three merchant vessels have been assaulted; one is still under pirate control: MV Abdullah,” reads the post.

The captions stated that Atlanta warships have been engaged in the area.

At least two sources who follow the incident of ship hijack told The Daily Star that they got information of presence of navy ships in the vicinity of the hijacked ship.

The ship’s owning firm, however, said they did not have any such information.

The company also reiterated its previous stance against any navy intervention or use of force as there are 23 hostages.

KSRM Group, which owns the ship, only wants the safe return of the crew members, said an official.

The company opposes any step that would put the lives of the crew in more danger, the officials said, adding that Bangladesh government also did not allow use of force when different navies attempted to launch an operation to rescue the ship a few days ago.

Shakawat Hossain, general secretary of Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers’ Association, said even if the EU Navy engages warships, it won’t take any action until the government and the ship owner allow it.

A former mariner said since the pirates already contacted the ship owning firm through a third party, it seems they want to start negotiations.

He added that any interference at this stage would be unwise.

On March 12, the pirates attacked MV Abdullah around 1:30pm (Bangladesh time) when the vessel was around 500 nautical miles off the Somali coast, sailing from Maputo in Mozambique to the UAE’s Al Hamriyah.