According to the owner of the hijacked 'Abdullah', there has been no contact with the pirates despite rumors in the local media that a ransom of $ 5 million has been demanded. The 23 crew members were still being held hostage on the ship, which anchored at the Garakad coast near Hobyo port in Somalia on March 14 at 2.00 p.m. The ship's AIS position is very close to the last reported position of the 'Ruen', the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier that was hijacked in Dec 2021. The owner stated that according to the latest information, the pirates have not harmed the crew in any way, and was exploring all possibilities. Neither have the authorities received demands for a ransom to release the crew. There were about 50 pirates on the ship, and the attack may be the first in a series. Four suspected pirate ships have sailed off the coast of Somalia with 36 armed men on board.
News
ABDULLAH
The 20 hijackers of the 'Abdullah' have demanded a $50 million ransom and threatened to kill the crew if there was any delay in payment. The ship was due to reach Somalia anchjorage early on March 14. All the crew members were reportedly safe and sound for the time being. A European Union vessel was tracking the ship as it headed toward the coast. At that time, there was a gunfight between the two sides. However, the raiding vessel later retreated fearing the death of the sailors held hostage on the Bangladeshi vessel. Meanwhile relatives received calls from board: "Our ship has been attacked. The ship is being hijacked and taken to the coast of Somalia. We are all being held in a room. We have not been beaten. By the grace of Allah, we are doing well, so far, please pray!" These were the words of ASM Saiduzzaman, chief engineer of the hijacked 'Abdullah' to his wife Mehreen Safrin, living in the RG Naogaon area of Naogaon city Zaman, by phone on the night of March 12. On March 13 morning, a recorded voice message came to Mehreen's phone again. In that message, a voice was heard saying, "Sir is fine. Sir is sleeping after eating Sehri. If you have any messages, send an SMS to this number." Mehreen, worried about her husband, said, "The work of the ship is very risky. Sometimes when he goes deep into the sea, there is no contact with him for 15-20 days. I used to worry then. I would only get in touch with him when he came back within the network. But this time the matter is very worrying. They have fallen into the hands of pirates. I see in the news that if they don't get the ransom, they will kill them one by one. “I am spending my time in extreme anxiety in this situation. I can't go anywhere for help with my one-year-old daughter and ailing in-laws. Our appeal to the government and the shipping company authorities is to somehow rescue my husband from the pirates." Qaiyum, a former principal of Sapahar Government College in Nawabganj and former president of Nawabganj District Press Club, received a call from his son's number on March 13 at 3:30 p.m. He called and said that their ship had been attacked by pirates. The ship is being taken to the coast of Somalia. After that, he sent a voice SMS from another number in the night and the next morning. He said in the voice SMS that he was doing well. The pirates did not beat him. They are all being held in a room. They are not being given much water to drink as there is a shortage of food and water on the ship." Omn March 12 at 1:30 pm Bangladesh time, Somali pirates had boarded and took control of the ship, en route from Maputo with 58,000 tonnes of coal. All 23 sailors on board were Bangladeshis. The ship is owned by SR Shipping Limited, an associate company of Chattogram’s Kabir Group.
RUEN
The 'Ruen', which was hijacked by Somali pirates in Dec 2023, was reported sailing off the coast of Somalia and may be used to conduct attacks on merchant vessels, the British maritime security firm Ambrey said on March 14, 2023. The ship, which has a black hull, red deck and a yellow smokestack with a red horizontal stripe, was seen sailing eastward 160 nautical miles southeast of Eyl, Somalia. The capture of the Ruen was the first successful hijacking involving Somali pirates since 2017, when a crackdown by international navies stopped a rash of seizures in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Ransom for the 'Ruen'’s kidnapped crew has not been paid. The pirates were still holding 17 crew after releasing one for medical reasons. The 'Ruen' is managed by the Navigation Maritime Bulgare.
NAVE CAIO DUILIO
The 'Caio Duilio', serving in the European Union’s naval mission in the Red Sea, has shot down two drones as acts of self-defense, Italy’s Defense Staff said on March 12. The destroyer already had shot down another drone on March 2. The EU’s mission Aspides in the Red Sea was launched in February to help protect the key maritime trade route from drone and missile attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militia.
BEHSHAD
The 'Behshad', owned by Iran's Rahbaran Omid Darya Ship Management Co., has been accused of playing a central role in disruptions to commercial maritime traffic in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, and of being a source for vital information for the Houthis. It was even suspected of having sabotaged submarine cables in the Red Sea when damage was noted to these infrastructures used for the transit of Internet data. The ship was nearby at the time of the incident. Even the USA seemed to be convinced that the 'Behshad' is not just a simple cargo ship. The vessel was the target of an American cyberattack which temporarily paralyzed it in February. Two weeks later, it was operational again. The official Iranian version – that it is a commercial ship – is difficult to swallow for experts. It is, for example, far too equipped for a commercial cargo ship. In Jan 2024, it left the Red Sea enroute to the Gulf of Aden and then positioned itself about 100 kilometers from the coast of Djibouti and began zizaging in the Gulf of Aden. The arrival of the ship in the Gulf of Aden coincided with a sharp increase in attacks on ships in this area. The 'Behshad' is thus suspected of crisscrossing the area in search of potential targets for the Houthis and sending them geolocation data so that they can strike right.