MV Abdullah: Crew members celebrate Eid in confinement
Chattogram Correspondent
The abducted crew members of the hijacked ship MV Abdullah celebrated Eid in an ordinary fashion in Somalia on Wednesday.
Sources said they offered Eid prayer on the hatch of the ship at around 12pm Bangladesh time.
According to one of the crew member's family, the sailors performed Eid prayers under the strict guard of pirates.
One of the images sent also showed the crew members performing prayers along on the hatch.
Asked, Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers Association (BMMOA) President Captain Anam Chowdhury assumed that the agreement with the pirates was almost final as they permitted the crew members to perform Eid prayers.
He confirmed that the photo was taken on the hatch of the ship.
Mentionable, the MV Abdullah was hijacked by Somali pirates with its 23 crewmen in the Indian Ocean on 12 March while en route from Maputo Port in Mozambique to Al Hamriyah Port in Dubai, carrying 55,000 tonnes of thermal coal.
On 5 December 2010, Somali pirates also seized another vessel, the MV Jahan Moni, which belonged to the same company. After enduring 99 days in captivity, the pirates eventually released the vessel, along with its 25 crew members and the wife of the chief engineer, Matiul Mawla.
The crew members finally returned to Chattogram on 21 March 2011, bringing an end to the agonising uncertainty that had plagued their loved ones for months.
