Bangladeshi-flagged cargo vessel MV Abdullah with its 23 crew reached Kutubdia channel of Cox鈥檚 Bazar on Monday evening, nearly a month after it was freed from Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean.
Carrying 56 thousand tonnes of limestone, the ship has anchored safely at Kutubdia this evening, said Meherul Karim, chief executive official of SR Shipping, owner of the ship.
A new team of 23 crews will go to Kutubdia to take charge of the ship while the released 23 crews will come to the city on Tuesday by a lighter ship at the new mooring container terminal at Chattogram Port by 4:00pm afternoon, he added.
MV Abdullah was hijacked by dozens of Somali pirates from the Indian Ocean and taken to the Somali coast on March 12 in a major escalation of piracy activities in the region.
Pirates attacked the MV Abdullah when it was headed for Al Hamriyah Port in the UAE, around 600 nautical miles off the Somali coast. It was carrying 58 thousand tonnes of coal from Mozambique鈥檚 Maputo port.
On April 14, the ship was released in exchange for a good amount of ransom, and with EU ship protection, MV Abdullah finally reached Al Hamriyah Port in the UAE after eight days.
The ship unloaded the goods and loaded the new consignment staying there for five day. On April 27, it started for Chattogram, the CEO said.