Staff Correspondent

State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury has rejected Reuters’ report claiming that Somali pirates released hijacked ship, MV Abdullah and its 23 crew members in exchange for a $5 million ransom.

“The footage showing paying $5 million ransom to Somalia pirates was not real. I don’t know if this is a part of a movie. We see such images in many films. I don’t know how or where the image was collected from or edited,” he said while talking to reporters at his ministry office in Dhaka on Monday.

Reuters in a report on Sunday claimed that Somali pirates released a hijacked ship, MV Abdullah, and its crew of 23 early after realising a $5 million ransom worth Tk 53 crore.

“The money was brought to us two nights ago as usual... We checked whether the money was fake or not. Then we divided the money into groups and left, avoiding the government forces," Reuters reports quoting Abdirashiid Yusuf, one of the pirates.

Responding to a query in this regard, he said, “I have no information relating to the ransom. It is not an easy job to pay a $5 million ransom to the pirates.”

“We rescued the ship and its crew members following multidimensional efforts including uninterrupted communication with Somali government, law enforcement agencies and international communities,” he said.

The crew members are safe now and the Bangladesh-flagged vessel MV Abdullah is now en route to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

He attributed the success of rescuing the vessel and its crew members to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, emphasising that the rapid communication with the pirates led to a successful conclusion of the rescue efforts within 32 days.