A ransom of $500,000 has been paid to pirates to free the Bangladeshi ship MV Abdullah with 23 sailors hostage off the coast of Somalia. Two pirates reported this information.

Abdirshid Yusuf, one of the pirates, said, “Two nights ago, dollars were brought to us… We have verified that the dollars are genuine and not fake. Then we divided the dollars among several groups and left the ship avoiding the government forces.’

Bandits hijacked the ship from the Indian Ocean on March 12. The vessel was carrying coal from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates when it was hijacked by pirates. After 9 days of the robbery, the bandits demanded a ransom from the first owner. Then the bargaining began. Pirates left the ship with 23 sailors yesterday. After being released, the ship left for Al Harmia port in the United Arab Emirates. MV Abdullah was escorted by two EU warships.

The hijacking of the Bangladeshi ship took place about 600 nautical miles east of the capital of Somalia. From 2008 to 2018, Somali pirates wreaked havoc along their country’s long coastline. After a few years of silence, they started banditry again from the end of last year.